Did You Miss Me?
by singintoyourself
Summary: COMPLETE! He moved. She moved on. Now he's back and joins the Sycamore Falls Marching Band, her band, under her command. Welcome to competitions, fights, laughs, drama and maybe even a little love, as one boy comes back home and one girl has to adjust.
1. Look What The Cat Dragged Back In

_A/N-This is my second foray into the Marching Band fanfic scene. Hope you enjoy!  
__The band owns me, and Dead Poetic owns "Hostages"  
__This will be a longer fic then my other one and it'll take me longer to update on this one.  
_

* * *

Did You Miss Me?

Chapter 1-Look What The Cat Dragged Back In

_Ten frozen memories lost into your pool of interrupted thought.  
__I could have reminisced for hours.  
__But right now you are all I get to remember.  
__I'm waiting for something to get through to you.  
__I'm waiting to see a truer side of you, and we're..._

_Hostages-**Dead Poetic**_

* * *

The air was hot that early June night. Most teens would be at home, celebrating the last day of finals, or out at Julie's, the local ice cream hotspot. But tonight was the very first meeting of the Sycamore Falls High School Marching Band. And tonight was the night that my life would change forever. 

I didn't know it. No one did. We had our slew of freshies and newbies as always, but there was another one. He was going to be a junior in the fall, like myself. We had such a history together.

I went to the school early to help set up the room for the meeting. I had gotten the position of High Brass Captain at the band's banquet last month. So in order to make a good impression, (alright, and show off my title a bit. I can't help it…trumpet cockiness, you know?) I wanted to see if there were any early rookies or any music needing copying. Be a good girl. Suck up to director and drum major. The normal things.

I pulled my practice horn out of the backseat of my car and hurried inside. I was totally excited for this season to begin. The rookies we had seemed to at least know how to read music, which was a major improvement on last year's bunch. Our show was new and exciting…and Latin. We had never done a show this bold or brassy before. I was planning on whipping the trumpets and mellos into shape fast so we wouldn't be rushed at band camp. I had a vision for my sections to be bold and gleaming. I wanted to strike fear into the hearts of our competitors.

The band room was empty except for a boy in the back row of chairs. He had a trumpet in his hands. From what I could see of it, it was a good horn. Not the one you'd see at a band practice.

"Hey, you here for marching band?" I asked the kid. He looked up from polishing his horn. He was pretty cute, with thick black hair that was shaggy in a non-emo way.

"Yeah…I'm new to the district again. I went here a while ago. I'll be a junior this year." The boy said. "You?" He looked up at me. His eyes were an amazing shade of blue-green.

"Yeah, I'll be a junior too. Sydney Roberson, High Brass Captain, at your service." I bowed sarcastically. He started laughing at me.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You really don't remember me?" Pretty Eye Boy asked, doubled over in his chair.

"Um, no, should I?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Syd, it's me! Dear ol' Jamies! Your bestest buddy evah!" He cried, jumping up to shake my hand enthusiastically.

James Daly was back in my life. This could _not_ be happening.

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_Reviewers get a shout out in the next chappie!!_


	2. Meetings, Music and Expectations

_A/N- Thanks to projectfreq91 and thatchesirecat for reviewing! _  
_Reviews are love!_  
_If you want to hear a snippet of the opener mentioned in this chapter, go to iTunes and look up the album "Big Band Bossa Nova" _  
_I do not own The Academy Is...'s "Unexpected Places"_

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Chapter Two-Meetings, Music, and Expectations

_We always have been caged  
By the choices we had to make  
You sold yourself so short,  
Is that the way to carry on?  
In the most unexpected places, I see changes,  
In the most unexpected faces, I see changes._

_Unexpected Places-__**The Academy Is...**_

* * *

This can't be happening.

_But it is_.

No it's not.

_Yes it is. James Daly is standing right in front of you. _

It's a mirage! He's not real. It's the heat. It's making you CRAZY!

_No, you're already crazy._

I can't breathe! I'm having an asthma attack! I can't breathe, oh my God, oh my God…

_You don't have asthma. Now shut up and snap out of it. You're staring like an idiot. _

"Hello? Anyone in there?" James was waving his hand in front of my face.

"Yes." I snapped, pushing his hand aside. He put the swatted hand in his pocket, hurt.

"Aw, don't get all bent out of shape. I'm back! How could you not be happy! In fact," He said, putting his hands on his hips mockingly. "You owe me."

I had been putting my horn together and oiling it while he was talking.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"That's right. You owe me. You should have been more welcoming. Now…as my pay…"

"You don't get pay. If I don't get paid, then you totally don't get paid." I said. "And I've been here longer, and am a Captain." I turned back to my horn. In a flash, he was behind me, twisting around so he could look me in the eyes.

"Please? You don't even know what I want." He said, pouting.

"I don't care what you what, just go away." I said, putting my head in my hands. I could hear more people trickling into the band room. I got up, carefully avoiding James's gaze. I had to go play welcoming committee with the other captains and the drum major.

* * *

The next ten minutes were spent handing out nametags to everyone and everything that walked by. The drum major, Megan, was a bit of a tyrant when it came to her job, but it was a welcome change from the drum majors who were only obsessed with making us run laps around the field. I was right; there were a lot of new faces. They looked a little frightened, which was quite understandable. They looked even more so once the upperclassmen started to fill the room. I laugh at a mental picture of myself at their age. I was tiny. Even smaller then what I was now, which was still pretty short.

Once everyone was settled in the band room, Megan went back to the director's office to call him out. Coolidge, a trombone player, had taken control of the band a few years ago, after Sycamore High went through a string of bad directors. He was the guy who stuck around the longest, and the kids really liked him. Coolidge also directed the jazz band in addition to marching band. The assistant director was the concert and symphonic band director as well. He was a cool enough guy, but Coolidge was better. I probably liked him better because I knew him better, through jazz and marching band, but whatever.

Megan stuck her fingers in her mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. The chatter immediately stopped. Coolidge came out of his office and looked around. He smiled.

"Sweet, I see a lot of old and new faces here." He made his way up to the front of the room and sat in his chair. "Okay, how 'bout we introduce some people?" He asked, but it was more commanding then asking. "Start off with Megan, and go through rookies and student leaders."

"Um, alright, my name's Megan, I play flute in symphonic band, and I'm going to be your drum major this year. Who wants to go next? Captains?" When none of the captains volunteered, she sighed. "_Fine…_I'm picking then." She scanned the room. "Noah." Megan said, deciding on the battery captain…and her boyfriend.

"Thanks, love you too." He said sarcastically. She smiled at him. "Hi I'm Noah, I'm in charge of the battery, I like drums, and Megan's my really mean girlfriend." He sat back down. "Oz's next!" He yelled. Olivia, the clarinet captain, stood.

"Noah, I hate you. I'm Olivia, but call me Oz, please, and I play clarinet in symphonic and tenor sax in jazz. That's it, I'm done, go Abby." Oz said quickly. She hated public speaking but is an awesome clarinetist. Abby stood up. I really didn't like Abby-she was perky and preppy and everything that annoyed the crap out of me. I tuned out during Abby's mini speech about how she loved shopping and pop music and diet soda and other things I couldn't care less about; but was brought back to reality by her chirpy "Okay, Sydney, you go!"

I stood up too fast and tripped up a little on my chair. A few of my friends laughed. Abby rolled her eyes and promptly began chatting with one of her guard friends. "I'm Sydney, and I'm high brass captain. I play trumpet in marching, jazz and symphonic band. That's all." I folded my arms and glared at Abby. She looked stupidly back.

After introductions by the guard and pit captains, and a few of the rookies, I started to get bored. I perked up every time someone said 'trumpet' or 'mellophone', and would give them a smile and a nod. I wanted to be hard core, but not mean. _How many new people ARE there?! _I asked myself. This was getting ridiculous!

"Hi everybody. I'm James. I'm a junior and I play trumpet. I'm new to this school, but I went to middle and elementary school in Sycamore. I like pretty girls, music, my trumpet, and drums." James was talking, and it seemed like every girl in the band room started to drool. _Honestly, show some self respect! If your spit's gonna wind up on the floor, it should be coming out of a spit valve! _I glanced over to the clarinet section, where one of my best girl friends, Rachel, was sitting. She was looking at James, but not with large eyes and open mouth. At least I could count on Rachel to have a brain. The guys didn't look to happy about James. To them, he was competition for the affection of all the band girls. I always had more guy friends then girl friends, but I didn't mind. They weren't gossipy or obsessed with make up and soap operas. To them, I was just one of the guys, but if a guy tried to approach me, they'd go all psycho over-protective big brother. It was annoying, but nice. In a weird way. Maybe I should tell them about James…

I was snapped out of my revive yet again, by the distribution of show music. This was the part of the first practice that was always the best. The rest of the section had a week to practice their parts and then they would receive what part they would be playing. I was the only person guaranteed a part-lead trumpet. Needless to say, I was happy. Auditioning annoyed me-if only because of the wait afterward to see if I made it or not. Freshmen had the chance to be on 2nd or 3rd, and everyone else could be 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Most upperclassmen were 1st or 2nds, and sophomores would basically be fit in wherever needed.

The opener was a tune called 'Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)'. At a first glance, it looked a little challenging, but nothing we couldn't handle. I've got faith in my brass players. If the rest of the show was like the opener, nothing could stop us. Nothing.


	3. A Bloody Great Way To Start The Summer

_A/N- projectfreq91- not only a great reviewer and guy, but an awesome writer! Go read his story in the screenplays section (I was not paid to say that).  
The very last paragraphs were written with help from my friend, Porkchop. Thankies!_  
_The Arctic Monkeys own these lyrics._

Chapter Three-A Bloody Great Way To Start The Summer

_Ooohh will blood run down the face,  
Of a boy bewildered and scorned?  
And you'll find yourself in a skirmish,  
and you wish you'd never been born,  
And you tie yourself to the tracks,  
And there isn't no going back,  
And its wrong wrong wrong-  
But we'll do it anyway cause we love a bit of trouble._

_Balaclava-__**Arctic Monkeys**_

* * *

By the end of the first practice, I had a good feel on who could play what and who would do well on which parts. Most of the rookies were fairly good, and they had a fairly good chunk of the opener down. There was one rookie however, who defiantly needed some help. Her name was Adrianna, and she was a freshman. She had only just picked up the trumpet a year ago, after learning piano and clarinet. She could easily march clarinet or be in the pit on vibe, but she said she wanted to learn as many instruments as possible. So she decided to march trumpet. Not that I was complaining, she just needed a lot of hard work and practice. I gave her my cell number so she could call me if she had any problems. I also let it be known I wouldn't mind giving lessons to people over the summer. I had in mind that I'd be teaching some of my younger brother's friends, but hey, a lesson's a lesson.

I had to admit that James was good. He had gotten better since the last time I heard him (which was over three years ago), but he was _beyond_ cocky. I know I can be cocky at times but I hope I'm not as cocky as he was. He kept saying how he was always on lead at his old school, how his teacher said this about him, how he should have made districts, all this crap. I wanted to scream!

School had ended the a few days after the first band practice, so now I was free and on the loose for two and a half months. This summer, all I had planned were band camp, lessons, and a few trips. I was staying home most of the summer, and was excited to spend most of the time with my friends. I was looking forward to peace and quiet most of the time. There were, however, full band practices nearly every week and I was working on a schedule for brass sectionals.

* * *

One of the first days I had off, I was relaxing on the front porch with a book when I noticed a U-Haul truck pulling into my cal-de-sac. I remember James saying something about moving into his new house this summer, and seeing the truck began to make me worry. _Please don't let it be him, don't let it be him,_ I thought as I watched a mini van with a trailer attached pulled into the driveway of the house. James hopped out of the back seat and made his way over to the truck. _There is someone up there that really really hates me, _I thought angrily. My mom walked outside when she heard the truck backing up into their driveway. My mom was the kind of mother who would make a jell-o mold or a cheesecake for someone who just moved in, or had a baby, or had a death in their family. My friends all loved her because they got food for any reason. I didn't care either way. I liked food a lot, but it got annoying to find only jell-o or cheesecake clogging the fridge.

"Who is that?" My mother asked, craning her neck to get a look at the new neighbors.

"Remember James Daly? Well he's back. And moving in. Here!" I cried. I was furious. _How could he ruin my summer? How could he?! That jerk!_

"Oh really? He was such a nice boy when he was last in school here. I'll have to go make something to welcome them into the neighborhood." My mom is way too nice. She'd never make it in marching band if she was in high school. That and she was a cheerleader in high school.

"Mom, do you remember what he did to me? He was such a jerk! He was my best friend and he turned on me! I don't want him back here; I don't want him to be in my band, in my school, with my friends!"

* * *

I was really mad. I don't know why he moved back here, and I don't want to know. I want him to go back to where ever he was before he came here. I stormed back inside. I went down into the basement and turned on my computer. I wanted to talk to someone or write a new piece of music. I jumped online and saw that Rachel was online, so I quickly typed out an IM.

_TrmptxGirl-Someone wants me dead, I know it_

_Rachers99-What's wrong?_

_TrmptxGirl-You remember James from band?_

_Rachers99-yeah…what's the problem?_

_TrmptxGirl- We have a bit of a history…bad stuff happened and I can't stand him _

_Rachers99- what happened?_

_TrmptxGirl-k so in elementary school we met and we were like best friends, and when we got the chance to be in band, we both picked trumpet. the problem started about 7__th__ grade when he got his first gf and she didn't like us hanging out, even though we were just friends _

_Rachers99- and he picked her instead of you? _

_TrmptxGirl-yeah! he didn't even have the decency to tell me to my face-he just went around ignoring me! i had to find out why he wasn't talking to me through someone else!_

_Rachers99- jerk!_

_TrmptxGirl- I know! Now he just moved in down the street. It's like my life's like some crappy horror movie or something cliché like that._

_Rachers99- I guess you could try to ignore him like he did to you. Give him a taste of his own medicine _

_TrmptxGirl-yeah I can try to_

_Rachers99- g2g ttyl _

_TrmptxGirl- k ttyl_

_Rachers99 has signed off._

I signed off after Rachel did and sighed. I was screwed. I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up and live with it. I logged off of my account and went back outside. I may have a monster living down the street, but I wasn't about to give up reading in the sunny warmth for it.

* * *

I finished my book about an hour later. I stretched out and shut my eyes for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of blue-green eyes directly in front of me. I jumped up, terrified. My book went flying as I fell off the rocking hanging bench I had been sitting on. James leaned back, laughing hysterically. I looked up at him with as much dignity as someone could when they were sprawled out on a semi-dusty porch.

"Stalking me now, aren't you?" I asked, standing back up and dusting myself off.

"Nah, I just came back to see how the pretty girl next door was doing!" He smiled goofily at me.

"Oh well she's the next house over, thanks for stopping by, go away now."

"No I mean you!" He looked at me. "You've grown up a lot since I've last seen you." His eyes flicked up and down my body. A shiver went up my spine.

"Well you haven't." I said, disgusted.

"Ouch, Syd, that hurts." He put his hand over his heart in an overdramatic way. "By the way," James leaned in closer to me and whispered in my ear, "You still owe me." He was _way _to close. I took a step back. Maybe I'd give whatever he wanted, and he'd leave me alone. Worth a shot.

"What do you want?" James grinned. He took a step closer to me again, and whispered, "A kiss."

A wave of horror and something that could have been nausea hit me as I though about him kissing me. I tried to back away, but he already put his hands on my waist and was lowering his head to meet mine…

SMACK.

James staggered backwards, holding his face. My arm lowered back to my side, my hand still in a fist. He took his hand away from his face and I saw that his lip was bleeding and part of his jaw was starting to bruise. Shocked, I looked down at my fist. _Didn't know I could do that…_James looked at me, and left without saying a word.

So much for a nice quiet summer.

* * *


	4. Locked In The Attic With A Memory Box

_A/N- Thanks again to projectfreq91, and JacokNortovc for reviewing!  
Lyrics aren't mine, plot is._

* * *

Chapter Four- Locked In The Attic With A Memory Box

_Now that I'm grown I've seen friendships fall to pieces.  
Weekend warriors and our best friends.  
The writers weren't kidding about how all good things must end.  
Then again some things, then again some things are far too good,  
Some things are far too good to go ahead and let go._

_Down And Out-**The Academy Is...**_

* * *

I watched James walk away. I couldn't move. I was in total shock. I had never punched out a guy before; especially when said guy was more then a head taller then me. _This can't be a good thing. _Never before had I known James to just walk away from something, unless he was really upset about it. 

_Well you did just give him a fat lip…_

Jerk deserved it.

_True. _

I went inside and locked myself in the attic. I would do this when I needed a place to be alone and think. Our attic was relatively empty, seeing as most of our crap was jammed into the garage. Once in my secret hiding place near the window, I sat down and wrapped my arms around my knees. I looked around at all the memories stored in boxes that were scattered around me. I laid my head down on my arm.

_This summer was supposed to be amazing. Sixteen, surrounded my friends, section leader…it was going to be great. Now it's ruined. James didn't have to come back and ruin my life. That's just what he does. It's in his job description. _

Melodramatic, aren't I?

I stood up when I couldn't stand the sound of my mind moping anymore and walked around the attic in search of something. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for but I had a feeling that I would know when I found it. I sorted through boxes that held the childhoods of my siblings until I came across a box that was labeled **'Sydney's-DON'T TOUCH!!!'** I remembered this box. I had dragged it up here filled with every picture, note, and memory I had of James in the summer before my 8th grade year. I pulled the box out of the pile and dragged it back towards the window and peeled the tape off of the top.

I dumped the contents of the box on the floor and began to look through it. There were many handmade cards from the many years in elementary school when we did things like that. They were covered in crude crayoned drawings and littered with misspellings. Yet they told of a close friendship; the one we used to have. There were programs from elementary concerts, shells from the times when we went to the beach, and massive amounts of pictures. Oh the pictures. They often showed two happy little kids- one small brunette girl and one taller black haired boy. There were obligatory school pictures, the ones where our heads were tilled to insane degrees and we were frequently leaning on a plastic tree or something among the same lines.

Then there were the pictures that showed who we were.

There we were, five years old, covered in finger paint and clay.

There we were, big first graders, going on our first field trip to the city zoo.

We were seven, in the middle of a fierce snowball fight. Then another picture right below it, of a snowman we made after the fight.

In the summer before third grade, swimming in my pool, surrounded by a huge amount of multicolored foam noodles.

Photos of the two of us, holding up the golden yellow rentals we were given by the school when we first started playing the trumpet.

Pictures of the big double digit birthday parties, with lots of presents, balloons, and sugar.

Finally moving up to the middle school, growing older, more independent, but still the best of friends.

Being in seventh grade, taking random pictures at my family's Christmas party.

The flow of pictures ended here. It was in the beginning of February he stopped talking to me. I had been devastated, destroyed at the fact that my so-called 'best friend' decided a girl was more important then eight years of friendship. It broke my heart, and I suffered through times when I would feel lonely in a crowded room. One weekend not long after I heard about James's betrayal, I packed away everything that reminded me about him in a big cardboard box and hid it away, for what I had hoped to be forever.

I took a last look at the pictures that were sounding me and stuffed it all back into the box and pushed it back away into the corner. I couldn't take it anymore. I don't want to see him again; I wanted my life to go back to normal.

* * *

_Yeah it's short…transition chapter, but still pretty important! Next chapter will see a sectional practice, the first of the summer parties, insanity and some other good stuff. Review if you want it faster!_


	5. When Swedish Fish Save The Day

_A/N- I love my reviewers-projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, xXxVampirexObsessedxXx, and just that one girl!_

_If you want to check out the second tune, use iTunes and search for "King Of Mambo"-it's the album. This song sounds a lot like one of the jazz band pieces we competed with, a tune called "Mambo Hot" I own nothing but the plot and the characters!!_

* * *

Chapter Five- When Swedish Fish Save The Day

_A heart of stone, a smoking gun  
I can give you life, I can take it away  
A heart of stone, a smoking gun  
I'm working it out  
Why'd you feel so underrated?  
Why'd you feel so negated?_

_Banquet-__**Bloc Party**_

* * *

"Okay guys, top of the opener." I said, holding my trumpet in one hand and conducting with the other. "One, two!" The mellos and trumpets standing around me snapped to attention.

"Stop, stop! Guys that was sloppy. Horns snap up on two. At the same time. No exceptions." I said, looking at my section. Most of the upperclassmen were on vacation, so I was surrounded by lowerclassmen. Most of them were good, but most were also cocky. Cocky to the extreme. James wasn't here either. I hadn't seen him since I punched him out on my porch.

"Alright. _Concentrate! _One, two!" Horns snapped up together. _Nice…_We ran through the song twice so I could hear each section and their parts. I nodded happily. "That was pretty good. But we aren't going to win competitions being 'pretty good'. We need more practice, here and when you guys are at home. We need to be awesome this year. I'm not gonna lie; there will be times you'll hate me. Just remember all the crap I give you is for your own good. But now I've got something for you…new music!" I cried, waving my copies of the second tune, "Mambo Jambo". Excitedly, everyone jumped up and crowded around me. I know it maybe wasn't the best idea for me to hand out music when most of the 1st and top seconds weren't there, but I trusted them enough to learn the music faster then the underclassmen. "Everybody listen!" I yelled over the noise. No luck. I was still being attacked by insane rookies and sophomores. Sighing, I put my fingers in my mouth and gave a loud whistle. That got everyone's attention.

"I'm going to play the recording first before I _hand _you your parts." I hit the button on my iPod that I plugged into the band room iHome. The trumpet players paled when they heard the music that was flooding the room. At the end of the song, Adrianna asked "Are we really going to play that?!" She was the palest of the bunch.

"Guys I know this sounds hard." I started. The trumpets stared blankly at me. "Okay, so maybe it is hard. But don't worry. We'll be having a lot of practice here at the school, and you guys are going to practice this at home. And you won't be the only ones playing this. The altos have a lot of the same rhythms as us. So don't worry about it. You'll do great." Attempts to reassure the younger halve of my charges seemed to fall on deaf ears. Adrianna's eyes were wide and staring at her music. Cate, a young mello, was fingering the notes out on the mellophone in front of her. The boys of the trumpet section tried to act cool, but they looked scared. I smiled at them. They weakly smiled back at me.

"Alright guys, you can go now." I said. They packed away their things up and said good-bye. When they had all gone, I let out a deep sigh. We needed work, plain and simple. I went over to the large chalk calendar on the black board and wrote down high brass sectionals for every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8. We were going to need all that practice. I sighed again, and then walked out of the band room, rubbing my forehead.

* * *

I drove straight home and flopped down on my bed. I never thought I would be totally drained from something as simple as a sectional. Sectionals were easy, they were the times when we looked over stand tunes and show music, and maybe marched a bit. But it was never straining or hard. _Darryl had it lucky, _I thought, remembering last years section captain. The senior was an awesome trumpet player, and an all-around cool guy. He led us effortlessly. I wanted to be like Darryl-the fun, cool, all knowing captain. Last year we knew what we were doing though. Last year we had rookies, but they worked quite hard to learn fast and be as hard core as the upperclassmen. This year…now I was worried for the section.

I sat bolt upright in bed when the phone rung right next to my ear.

"Hello?" I said groggily. I didn't know I'd be this tired after a sectional. A sectional!?

"Hey!!" I heard Rachel scream on the other end. I held the phone arms length away from me. "What's up?" I asked. Rachel was always loud. She never had an off switch; she was the person who would never sleep on the four hour band bus rides. I have a theory that she got a hold of a massive amount of Pixie Stix as a child and has never gotten over the sugar high.

"Impromptu party, that's what's up!" She cried. I perked up a little.

"Party? When? Where?" I asked, getting excited. I needed a little more fun and a little less drama this summer.

"My house, tonight, 'round seven. All the guys are gonna come. It's going to be freakin' awesome!" Rachel said. "Alright, I'll check with my mom, hang on." I told her. After locating my mother (who was gardening-something I couldn't do because my face tends to explode around flowers and pollen and the outside world in general) and getting her to agree in my favor, I ran back up to the phone. I shared the good news with Rachel, and spent about twenty minutes talking about random things, before my dear brother, Danny, kicked me off the phone.

I turned around to the alarm clock on the nightstand to see how long I had until I had to leave for Rachel's. It was nearly five. Shrugging to myself, I pulled my trumpet towards me and began to run through the pieces I was assigned for my next lesson. I played until my lips were a bit tired, then put the horn back and decided to get ready for the party. It was casual, so I pulled out my favorite pair of jeans and a black fitted tee. I was never overly concerned about the way I dressed. So long as I was comfortable, I was fine, and I didn't care what anyone else thought. Glancing in the hall mirror to make sure my hair was still straight; I headed out the door and hopped into my car.

* * *

It was a short ride toRachel's and in no time, I was running up to the front door and being mauled by a group of teenage guys. They all tackled me to the ground (quite easy when there is one of me and five of them) and proceeded to all start talking at once.

"Finally, a pretty girl showed up!!" Joked Hayden, a guy I've known since middle school band when the percussionists were behind the trumpets. I know a lot of the guard girls have crushes on him…well I guess he is considered hot, cause he's got tan skin, honey blond hair and dark eyes. But to me, he was always just Hayden. The guy who would go to a dance with you as a friend and nothing more, which was always nice to know I would have someone to go with. It was funny, the majority of my friends were guys, yet I never really had something that could be considered a relationship. I'd dated before, but nothing lasted more then a month. I wanted something that mattered to both parties involved. Something real, something lasting.

I found myself being dragged up from the ground by Sean, a trombone player, and swimming beast. Sean was pretty cool, fairly insane, but then again he had to be to survive the low brass section. "Time to get up!" He yelled, picking me up like I was a rag doll and tossing me over his shoulder. I screamed at him to put me down, but to no avail. He carried me into the house, nearly knocking my head off with the door frame. By now I stopped struggling. It was hopeless. I passed Rachel's mom while Sean was walking with me on his back through the kitchen. She looked at me funny, then looked at Sean and shook her head with a smile on her face. I shrugged (harder then it looks when you're being forcefully carried by a state level swimmer) and waved.

I was beginning to quite enjoy the ride when it suddenly ended. I was soon lying flat on my back in Rachel's spacious backyard, after being unceremoniously dropped by Sean. Rachel came into view, laughing her head off and offering me her hand. I took it and she helped pulled me to my feet. "So," she said. "You're here!" I laughed. "Yeah, grand entrance and everything!"

I surveyed the yard, looking for more of my friends. I knew if I didn't see them know, they'd run up and jump on me later. Then I saw…_him…_

No not James!

The other _him_…this _him _I had been crushing on for a good year and a half now. Natalie was convinced that it wasn't just a crush, but I brushed off the idea. Me? In love? Ha! Besides, I didn't have a chance with _him. _He had a girlfriend, and he was just a friend. Only a friend.

I swear I'm not normally this melodramatic.

I managed to tear my eyes from him to see Rachel's boyfriend, Kyle, come up from behind and sneak his hands around her waist. She screamed and whipped around, face to face with a laughing Kyle. She screeched again, grabbing a cup of water and proceeding to chase Kyle with it. He ran, screaming every time she hit him with the water: "I'm melting! I'm melting!!" I doubled over with laughter, nearly falling over when Rachel tried to tackle Kyle but instead landed in a bush.

"Pretty funny, those two?" A voice asked from behind me. I immediately straightened up and turned to see who it was.

"Yeah…" I said, trying not to lose my nerve with _him _so close to me. I was also fighting a sudden strong urge to burst into giggles for unknown reasons (or maybe it's because Kyle just picked up Rachel and is heading towards the little kiddie pool with a screaming Rachel on his back). Well for either reason, I knew I would look utterly retarded if I started giggling out of nowhere. And besides-TRUMPETS DON'T GIGGLE. We just don't. I don't know why.

"So what's up Syd?" He asked, taking my hand (I thought my brain would either explode or my heart would stop beating from excitement. Thankfully it was neither.) and leading me over to the folded chairs on the side of the lawn near the shady trees.

"N-nn-not much." If this was an Elmer Fudd audition, I would have nailed it dead on. Unfortunally for me however, it wasn't. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _I mentally yelled at myself. "You?" I asked, attempting to be as smooth as possible.

"Eh, not much. This party's been about the only thing I've done this summer, 'sides band of course." Not only is he amazingly beautiful, funny, and smart, but he's a band geek like me! We're perfect. I loved the way his light brown hair shown in the setting sun. He's a tenor sax player, but he played all kinds of Saxes. He liked tenor the best I guess.

"How's Kaylee?" I asked, thinking of his current girlfriend. She was a guardie, pretty and talented. She was fairly quiet most of the time, but would just explode with talking at the most random times.

To my surprise, a dark look passed over his face.

"_That face! That face! That wooonderful face!" _

Now is not a Producer's moment!!

_It's never a Producer's moment when you're around._

Shut up.

"She broke up with me." He mumbled. _Ouch! _

"Oh, Christian, it's okay. There's other fishies in the sea!" I said. "See look, there's a bowl of Swedish Fish right over there!" I had just noticed the delicious red fish myself. How I loved those fish. They were bad when I had braces, not good for trumpet playing, but they were _soooo _good.

Christian looked up so fast I could have sworn I heard his neck crack. "Fish?" He asked his sapphire eyes eager. He also had a passion for the little red fish.

Seeing his happiness, I nodded. "Yes! See, right over there! There's FISH!" He smiled at me and took off for the Swedish Fish. Knowing how many he could eat (and that was a lot) I ran after him so could have some too.

Such a miracle that such a small piece of favored stretchy sugar could mend hearts and bring them closer together.

_Well not literally. That'd be impossible. _

Just shut up and eat the fish!!

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_Long long long chappie for you guys!! I got the idea for Christian's name from the last name of the lead singer from Anberlin (Stephen Christian). You guys like it? Hit the review button! It's that easy! Have a safe and happy fourth!_


	6. Roses And Thorns

_A/N- Thanks yet again to my reviewers JacokNortovc, projectfreq91, and maria.boom.baby. for reviewing! _

_Sorry about the wait…my internet DIED (literally), been busy with work (at a bookstore, so I'm planning the Deathly Hallows release party squee) trumpet playing, I went to an amazingly awesome DCI show Sunday, and I possibly dislocated my knee a couple of days ago. At least I have a reason. BUT I'M BACK! thunderous applause_

_I own nothing but the plot. The lyrics are Billy Joel's (And also the basis for the '07 Cavies show!!)_

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Chapter Six- Roses and Thorns

_I spoke to you in cautious tones  
You answered me with no pretense  
And still I feel I said too much  
My silence is my self defense _

_And every time I've held a rose  
It seems I only felt the thorns  
And so it goes, and so it goes  
And so will you soon I suppose _

_And So It Goes-__**Billy Joel**_

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We must have looked like fools, sitting there laughing insanely and eating massive quantities of Swedish Fish. I really felt like something could happen between us, like he would eat a fish and look into my eyes and suddenly realize he's been in love with me the whole time.

But that only happens in fairy tales and the soap operas my sister watches.

And last time I checked, Swedish Fish were not made of Love Potion Number 9.

He sat next to me, chewing away, when he suddenly turned to me.

"Can I ask you something?" Christian's dark blue eyes were locked onto my brown ones.

"You just did." I said slyly. I ignored his eyes rolling and his sighing. "But you can ask me another one." I added, turning to look at him.

We were sitting under the oak trees near the gazebo and Rachel's garden. She was almost as obsessed with is as her clarinet and violin, which was a scary amount of obsession. I would considered it stalking had she been obsessing over a person. Overall, it was freaking beautiful. And with the sun setting, it could have been a shot out of a movie. The scenery couldn't be any more perfect.

And I remembered to take my allergy medicines to protect myself from the evils of pollen! Everything was going my way!

Christian sighed. "Well I like this girl, but I don't know if she likes me. And she's my friend, and I don't want to mess anything up between us." My breath caught in my throat. _It couldn't be…me? _

"You should tell her. If she likes you too, she'd be so excited to hear you tell her. And if she is only your friend, and truly your friend, then it wouldn't be awkward between you two." I said slowly. I looked down at my feet, then back up at Christian, who had a large smile on his face.

"You really think so?" He almost whispered excitedly. He moved closer to me. My heart rate quickened as I watched him lean in towards me.

"Yeah." I breathed, "I really think so." _A year and a half in the making…_I thought. I was nervous, scared, and shaking. But more then that, I was eager and excited and my heart was in my throat. _Just ask me out…_

"Thanks!" He said happily, giving me a quick hug and running off. My heart dropped back down past my chest and into my stomach. _How could I have been so stupid? _I asked myself. I curled up and wrapped my arms around my legs and buried my head into my knees. I looked up and was sickened by what I saw. Christian was talking to Abby, my flute playing foe, who was a cousin of Rachel (and thusly Rachel was forced to invite her to most of her parties) and a friend of Christian. _Friend…he never said who exactly._ I remembered. It felt like I had been punched in the gut. I watched as Abby's eyes lit up as she squealed and hugged him tight. And then, as if she knew of the conversation that had taken place between Christian and I, and as if she knew of how my heart was being smashed to pieces, she kissed him right then and there in front of everyone.

I felt tears pick my eyes as I watched the newest band couple staring lovingly (sickening, really) into each other's eyes. _I will not cry over a boy, I will not cry over a boy, I will not cry over a boy…_I took a deep breath and stood up quickly. _I will not cry over a boy, I will not cry over a boy…_I turned around and brushed the dirt and grass off. _I will not cry over a boy…_

"Hey, Sydney?" I heard Christian's voice from behind me. _I will not cry over a boy…_

"What?" I said harshly, trying to keep as much emotion as I could out of my voice.

"I just wanted to say…thanks again for your help. Without you, I probably never would have asked out Abby." He sounded happy. _Well at least he's happy…much happier then what he would ever be with you. _I though miserably as I felt a new wave of tears push themselves to the brims of my eyes.

"Yeah sure, anytime!" I said, with an overly false cheeriness that should have noticeable to anyone with half a brain cell that I was clearly _not _cheery. Christian, however, didn't notice, and as his footsteps grew fainter across the yard, I felt my love (I've finally admitted to myself that I was in love with him-I had to be if my heart hurt this badly) for him fade away too. But that didn't take the pain with it. Numbly, I walked around the house and said a quick goodbye to Rachel, telling her I would call her later to tell her why I was upset. I just couldn't talk about it now. I wasn't sure if I could trust my voice if I started talking about him right now.

I got into my car and put in my Billy Joel CD, which had been pre-dubbed my comfort CD. I pulled out of the driveway as the first track "C'etait Toi (You Were The One)"started playing. That man must have endured lots of heartache if he constantly wrote tracks like that. So it was the perfect thing for a heartbroken teenager. I skipped ahead to on of my favorite songs, the ballad, "And So It Goes". As I listened to the lyrics, it felt to me as if my heart would never be whole again. Tears threatened to fall again just as I was pulling into my driveway. I got out of my car and curled up on the cushioned bench.

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_A/N-Another transition chappie. Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Feedback gets me to write faster!!_


	7. I Got Kissed And Then I Ran Away

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, xXxVampirexObsessedxXx, JacokNortovc, and fluteingaround for reviewing! And special thanks to fluteingaround, for being the first to add this story to her favorite's list! _

_I own nothing but the plot!_

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Chapter Seven- I Got Kissed And Then I Ran Away

_Don't be surprised, I'm gonna let you run away  
Don't turn around, I'm gonna walk the other way  
I'm not going to chase you down the street  
I won't chase you down the street_

_Rain Will Fall**-Silverstein**_

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I allowed myself to wallow in self pity for ten minutes, not realizing I was in a very public place. I was upset. After all, I just saw my crush ask out my arch enemy after asking me for advice on if he should ask her out or not. Since when did my life become some MTV perky teen reality drama? I turned away from the street and allowed a few more tears to fall before wiping them away. 

"You know, you're just as pretty when you've been crying as you are when you aren't." A soft voice came from behind me. For the second time in a week, I spun around too fast and fell to the porch floor. He came over and helped me up. I looked up and was surprised to see it was James. His hand stayed on my arm as he looked into my eyes. I jerked it away and sat down.

"Go away." I said flatly. My day had already been crap, and I didn't think I could deal with James right now.

"No." He said determined. He sat down next to me, and gently turned my head to face him. "Who made you cry?" He asked quietly, a hint of anger in his voice. _So the old James decided to pay a visit, now didn't he? _

"None of your business." I said harshly. He looked genuinely hurt. I could see that his bottom lip was slightly swollen and bruised. There was also a small cut on his lip too, which must have made playing impossible. _Probably why he wasn't at sectionals…or he didn't want to face you… _

"Actually I think it is, Syd. When we were younger, you'd tell me everything. So why won't you tell me now?" James didn't take his eyes off of me.

"Because of Abby! Why else do you think I don't want to talk to you, or see you, or breathe the same air as you?!? You left me, your _best _friend, for my worst enemy!! You know how much I hate her, James, but it didn't matter to you!" I practically yelled, jumping to my feet. He winced. "And you didn't have the balls to tell me to my face! I found out through the freaking grape vine that you were going out with _her!_" I spat out the last word.

James looked down at his feet, his face going red. "Then whenever I tried to talk to you, you'd run away. Like a coward! And then you moved, and you didn't have the decency to tell your friend of seven years that you were moving across the state! Do you have any idea how upset I was?! No! Because you were too selfish, thinking of yourself and how lucky you were to have such a hot girlfriend!" I was furious by now, reliving my entire seventh grade year in my head. This was his fault. He ruined my year. He deserved to feel ashamed.

"Sydney…" James said, standing up to look me in the eye. My entire five foot three frame was shaking with anger. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were bottling that up for four years. I didn't mean to make you mad." He hung his head in shame.

"Well you know what? You did! And it broke my heart! How would you feel if one day your best friend decided a girl was more important then you? That you would never measure up to her? That seven years of friendship meant _nothing_!?" A few tears of anger escaped my eyes. James looked at me and raised his hand to my face and wiped them away. He looked into my emerald eyes and I looked into his pale blue ones.

Then he leaned down and kissed me. It was soft and sweet, and for a while, I forgot that this was James, the boy who left me for a girl and who moved without telling me. His arms slipped around my waist and my arms found his way to his neck. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine.

"Are you going to hit me?" He said jokingly. Then it, no pun intended, hit me. I had just _kissed_ James! Terrified, I pulled myself out of his arms and ran inside, leaving James looking very confused on my porch.

I ran up to my room and peeked out the window to see James walk back to his house, slightly slumped over. _I can't believe he just did that! _I self consciously felt my lips. Funnily enough, his fat lip didn't bother me at all.

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_A/N-Oooooh bit of a shocker there!! Short but probably my favorite chapter to date. And it flowed really well for me. Drop a review if you want! _


	8. Vices

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_

Thanks also to Jollibee and projectfreq91 for adding this story to their favorites list!

Chapter Eight- Vices

_Raise a boy to a cynic. _

_Take his love, and then let it turn into something passionate.  
Something sick, something rabid.  
And I vent to keep myself from caving. _

_I don't hate you, I just hate where I'm heading.  
I'm left here asking, when did I trade in my bleeding heart for a selfish win?_

_Vices-__**Dead Poetic**_

* * *

Turning away from the window, I felt more tears come to my eyes. I hadn't felt like such a sprinkler in years. I felt disgusted in myself. I was going to pieces over as something as stupid as a boy. Or two boys. My eyes hurt. I lay down on my bed and plugged my iPod into its iHome and turned it up. I rolled over so I was face down and sighed.

"When did I turn into this?" I asked myself. I snuggled up into a ball, and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up, my eyes red and puffy and my nose looking like Rudolph's. I rolled over to look at my clock and wasn't really surprised to see it was noon. My parents would be at work by now, so I would be alone with my siblings. I could easily hide from them all day, if I wanted to. My oldest brother, home from his freshman year of college, was probably out looking for a job or hanging out with his girlfriend. My younger sister, Avery, who was thirteen, basically was a younger version of Abby. She looked nothing like me, she's tall, blonde, a cheerleader, and has had more boyfriends then I probably ever will have. Needless to say, my dear sister and I didn't really get along. Hopefully she wouldn't bother me today, but knowing her, she would. I also had a sweet seven year old brother.

I slowly walked to the bathroom, still wearing the same clothes I was last night. I took a shower and changed into clean clothes. I walked down to the kitchen and made a bagel for myself.

"Nice of you to wake up, Sleeping Ugly." The snide voice of my sister said from the doorway.

"Nice of you to annoy the only person who can drive you and your little blonde friends to the mall. Real smart there." I deadpanned. She shut up and pouted at me.

"Awww, that's not fair! Mom said you would take me, Chrissy, and Brit to the mall this afternoon!" She whined. I hate it when she does that. She thinks it sounds cute but I think it sounds like a dolphin. An annoying dolphin at that.

"Keep whining and nobody goes." I snapped. I _loved_ holding the fact that I could drive and she couldn't over her head. "You three are sitting in the back, no rap or pop, defiantly no High School Musical, and Rachel is coming." I said, laying down my rules. If she didn't like them…well tough cookies.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever…" I sat down and quickly ate my bagel. After a quick call to Rachel, asking her to come with us to the mall, to save me from losing my sanity and she (thankfully) agreed, I yelled for my sister to get downstairs so we could leave to pick up everyone. She came down, her blonde hair tied up with a hot pink ribbon, wearing a matching tank top, flip flops, and mini skirt. She saw me, in my basketball shorts, band t-shirt and sneakers and stared at me.

"You're going to the mall looking like that?!" She asked, shocked at my 'obvious lack of fashion sense'. Well, that's what she called it last time. I just called it comfortable.

"Yeah, and if you complain, then we don't go. Simple as that." I glared at her, daring her to say anything else. I was sort of happy to go to the mall-I was getting out of the house, Natalie would be there and we could discuss my crappy life over large amounts of Ben and Jerry's, and boys don't go to the mall. Well the boys I know don't go there; they avoid it like the plague.

* * *

Avery and I got into my Honda and pulled away from my house. Picking up Natalie first and kicking Avery to the back seat, I took the longest time I could in order to avoid being in the car with the airheads for longer then necessary.

We pulled into the mall and Avery hopped out of the car. I rolled down my window and Avery began talking a mile a minute. "Okay, stay away from me and my friends, I'll call you when we're done, see you later bye!" She yelled, running away with her friends into the mall. I looked over to Rachel and rolled my eyes. "Glad to know she's grateful." I said. Rachel laughed and we both stepped out of the car, and made our way to the mall entrance.

"So why'd you leave all of a sudden last night?" She asked as we walked past the food court. I quickly filled her in on the whole situation with Christian, leaving out the part with James. Rachel's eyes filled with rage; she hated Abby as much as I did. After Rachel had cursed out Christian to the best of her ability (and left an old kiosk worker stunned by her words), she pulled me over to the ice cream place.

"My treat, because you're emotionally distressed and my mom gave me money." She said, still holding onto my arm. I laughed; Rachel was the kind of friend who'd defend you till the end and then scream "Let's go get food!" And I loved her for it.

We ordered and sat down at a little table to discuss random topics-boys, band, boys in band, etc. I listened to Rachel talk about Kyle and how sad she would be next year without him (he was a senior trombonist), and about how happy he made her. I didn't mind her talking about him; it was rare that she did, and I was happy to know that my friend was happy.

"But you know, that James guy actually seems nice. Have you talked to him?" Rachel asked, looking and me over her cone of strawberry ice cream.

"Umm…a little bit…" I said. I don't know why I haven't told her about the kiss yet, normally we tell each other everything.

"And…?"

"Well, do you want the first time or second time?" I asked, trying to stall as much as possible.

"Start from the beginning!" She cried.

"Well, he came, tried to kiss me, and then I punched him in the face." I said quickly. Natalie stared at me. "You actually punched him?" She asked. "Did you hurt him?"

"I guess, he wasn't at practice. And I know from experience that it's really hard to play on a fat lip."

"You gave him a fat lip? That's my girl." She said proudly. I smiled weakly. She must have noticed, because she said, "And the second time…?"

I sighed again. There was no avoiding it. "Last night, after the party. I came home and was really upset over Christian. I was crying on the porch swing, and James comes over. He says some crap about how I'm pretty and stuff and I fall off of the swing and he helps me up and then he kisses me." Rachel's eyes went wide. "Then I realized what I was doing and I ran inside." Rachel nodded.

"I think you should give him another chance." She said simply. I stared at her.

"Rach? Are you smoking something illegal or otherwise found in permanent markers?" She had to be. She just had to, if she was saying something as terrible as 'give him a chance'.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. But your non-existent love life isn't. C'mon Syd, you deserve to be happy! Maybe James will be your happy. You'll never know till you try!" She stood up and threw out her napkin.

"I did try it!" I yelled to her.

"Yeah, but did you like it?" She asked wisely. For once, I was lost for words. Did I like it? I don't know…it almost seemed as if there were two James's-one that breaks my heart and the other that fills it with happiness.

_Stupid, confusing matters of the heart. Maybe James is just a vice. Just a defect that my heart had to deal with until he got worked out of my system. He's my vice, simple as that.  
_

But can't vices destroy people?

I groaned and proceeded to bang my head on the table.

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_Reviews are love! Long chapter…remember I write faster with reinforcement from you readers!!_

_This story has been viewed over 500 times! Thanks sooo much!  
The definition for the word "Vices" for this chappie is 'A flaw or imperfection; a defect.' Nothing but the plot and characters are mine! _

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	9. Catch 22 Band Is Sane

_A/N-thanks to the reviewers maria.boom.baby., Bat, projectfreq91, Gen, and fluteingaround._

_Sorry for the long wait, but with the whole DEATHLY HALLOWS allows for squeeing and screaming thing and party planning I was quite busy. _

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Chapter Nine-Catch 22 Band Is Sane

_What's the deal with my brain?  
Why am I so obviously insane?  
In a perfect situation  
I let love down the drain.  
There's the pitch, slow and straight.  
All I have to do is swing  
and I'm the hero, but I'm the zero_

_Perfect Situation-__**Weezer**_

* * *

Rachel eventually managed to drag me away from the table ("Aw, c'mon I was doing something productive!"), and lead me in the opposite direction away from anything I could impale myself on. She had a tight grip on my arm, but that didn't stop me from eyeing anything that could work-from doorknobs to the carousel. She pointed out the FYE, and I, being the huge music dork that I was, ran inside.

Music had always been my getaway from real life. A good album was like a release from the world to me, just like a good book. Glancing around in the random sections, I felt another let down. _No good albums? Nothing new? Why does everything hate me?!  
_

I looked over at Rachel, who was over in the DVDs. We walked out and went to a few more stores, but nothing really hit me as awesome. Luckily enough for me, Avery called and demanded a ride home, because apparently someone said something about some boy and it caused a big fight in the middle of Abercrombie and Fitch. Nothing to worry about though, it seemed like this happened every time I drove my sister and her friends to the mall. The car ride was a quiet and long affair; Rachel was letting what she said sink in, and the girls weren't speaking to each other for some stupid reason or another. Avery and I were soon the only ones left in the car. Neither of us spoke, as normal. We didn't have a thing in common. Her biggest dream was to be captain of the varsity squad by junior year, while mine was to be a music teacher. She scoffed at the idea of going to college to learn to be something; she just thought she could be a cheerleader for the rest of her life.

I claim to be adopted. Or switched at birth with some girl who's now a cheerleader and her band geek parents are scratching their heads thinking '_Where did she come from?!'  
_

But I look and am too much like my grandfather to have been adopted. He too, was a trumpet player and taught trumpet and music for most of his life. My grandmother, who died before I was born (her name is my middle name, Elizabeth), also loved music, but taught English. My Grandpop is easily my favorite relative. He's so easy to talk to and understands without judging, unlike the rest of my family. My youngest brother also is a lot like him. At least I'm not alone in my family.

* * *

Avery leapt out of my car when we got home without so much as a thank you. I was used to it by now, and was beginning not to care as much, but in my already raw emotional state, it hurt more then normal. My sprits brightened considerably when I saw Grandpop's car in front of mine. I jumped out of my car and ran for the door. I wouldn't have noticed that my dad was home earlier from work too, had I not almost ran straight into his car. Shaking it off, I wrenched open the door and bolted into the kitchen to see both my parents and grandfather sitting at the table.

"There's my girlie!" He bellowed as he opened his arms for a hug. I happily replied, receiving an evil glare from Avery, who didn't like socializing with anyone not her own age and who didn't shop at Hollister. Oh well, her loss.

"Hello Sydney." My mother said. "So how was shopping?" She was always trying to get me to be more like my sister, though I'd much rather throw Walt Zebedee Neville Emerson III (otherwise known as my Bach Strad, which was once Grandpop's) off of the press box at the school.

"Just like last time and the time before; my ungrateful sister and her annoying friends go, they fight, and they come home." I wasn't one for sugarcoating. My mother sighed. She hated when my sister and her friends fought. She stood up and made for my sister's room. Grandpop looked at my dad. "Well? When should I move in?" I looked from my grandfather to his son. He could just be joking. I really hoped he wasn't.

My dad rubbed his forehead. "In the next month." He finally said. "Syd and Leo can help you get settled, and Danny's home from college, so he can help you pack and move stuff." I squealed in happiness-a rare squeal normally reserved for new music or Harry Potter, and hugged my father. My heart lighter then what it had been in days, I skipped upstairs and began practicing one of the lesson etudes-a happy and quick one to reflect my mood.

* * *

The next full band practice came quickly, and I was there early as always. Adrianna and I had yet to set up our lesson schedule since my boss had yet to finalize my work schedule. I was working for the third summer in a row at Clemmer's, a local music store. It was a good job for a band geek like myself to have-I was never out of valve oil and my friends could always get their reeds at a reduced price if they asked me to get them.

We were outside marching. Everyone was spilt into sections, and since our band wasn't huge, the high brass and low brass combined to form one eighteen person section. The low brass captain, who happened to be Sean, and I worked on reviewing the basics. Forward march, backward, right, left…fifteen minutes into it I was bored. And I wasn't even marching-I was just calling commands and keeping time with two drumsticks. Sean wasn't doing anything. He was sitting on the ground playing with the grass. I called the brass to a halt and threw one of the drumsticks at Sean.

"Oww!" He yelled, rubbing the spot where the stick hit his forehead. "What was that for?!" I rolled my eyes. "Because you are a terrible section leader and you're tearing apart the only field the school will let us use." I said, reaching out for the drumstick. Sean jumped up and held it over my head. I glared at Sean-he was at least a foot taller then me and thusly made it quite hard to get back my stick.

"Water break guys." I called. As soon as their backs were turned I tackled Sean (which surprisingly didn't work) and wound up in an awkward position that had me trying to squeeze his head off. Sean looked at me and laughed. Picking me off the ground with one hand, he tossed the drumstick over his shoulder. I yelled and pounded on his back in a demand to be let down.

"No, I think I'd rather go get some water." He smirked, walking away from my drumstick, with me still over his shoulder. I really really hated how all the guys could do this to me.

"I hate you."

"I know."

"I want my drumstick."

"I didn't know you were like that Syd."

"Ew! Pervert!"

"You said it, not I."

"Put me down!"

"Okay."

And with that, I landed on the hard ground off the sidelines. _Jerk…does he not know about putting a girl back down on her feet? _I stood back up and looked over at the brass, all were laughing hysterically. I smiled along with them. There was no such thing as dignity in the brass section.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw James sulking with his water bottle. He had been like that all practice. It was getting rather annoying. He refused to talk to anyone and was just being a downer. It wasn't bothering me much, but I couldn't help but notice the odd look he gave Sean and I as I was carried across the field. I couldn't quite tell what it was-whether it was anger or sadness. I shrugged it off; my thoughts were interrupted by one of the baritone players squirting me with water. I laughed, and then made him run laps. I was, after all, supposed to be in charge. Or at least look like I was.

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_Reviews are love!!_


	10. You What? Part I

_A/N-thanks to projectfreq91, hottie12345k, maria.boom.baby. for reviewing! Thanks also to hpsoccergeek79 for adding this story to their favorites! _

* * *

Chapter Ten- You What?! Part I

_So let me get this straight.  
You say now you loved me all along,  
What made you hesitate?  
To tell me with words what you really feel.  
I can see it in your eyes you mean all of what you say,  
I remember so long ago, see I felt that same way…_

_A Day Late-**Anberlin**_

* * *

After band (which involved the passing out of the ballad, and thusly, chaos) I got into my car and opened the window to talk to Adrianna's mother, who had just arrived. Mrs. Martin was a kind, plump woman, with a shock of dark hair. I could see a bit of Adrianna in her, especially in the eyes. We decided on when her lessons were going to be (Mondays at two), and where they would be (my house). Avery would be mad because her soaps would get interrupted by mine and Adrianna's "horrible sounds". Just thinking of her anger made me laugh a bit. 

Adrianna got into her mother's van and waved at me from the window. I was still in the parking lot, waiting for it to clear out a bit before I left. I was terrified of the curb of the music wing parking lot, ever since my freshman year from riding back to the school from Brassline Breakfast with Steve, a now graduated trombonist, and Brian, Steve's younger brother and a trumpet player in my grade. Steve is one of the smartest guys I know, but at seventeen he was a terrible driver. I honestly thought I was going to die.

I glanced around the parking lot. There was no way I could get out now, since half the weapon line was out there, with weapons. The guard members were not people to cross. I looked to my left and saw James, who looked like he was having trouble with his car. I leaned out my window to yell out "Hey, James, having problems?" He looked around to see who yelled. His face was slightly pink, illuminated in the glow of the lights, turned a darker red when he saw who had yelled at him.

"A bit." James said. His black hair shown in the light. He actually looked nice.

_Wait a minute, what are you talking about?!?_

"Need a ride?" I asked. He looked surprised; I must have looked the same.

_You just asked James to ride in the same car as you!!_

It's only for ten minutes.

_You were outside for ten minutes and look what happened!_

I'll be driving. It's not like he'd try to kiss me while driving.

_How do you know that?!_

"Umm…sure. I've got a flat tire." James said, looking even more embarrassed. He opened up his trunk and pulled out his backpack and his trumpet. Slamming it shut, he then went into the front seats to grab a few more things from the car before locking it. I popped open my trunk so he could put his stuff in. My Honda was small, and I had stuff from work in the back seat, so the trunk was the only place to put things for now. I heard a _thud _as his stuff hit the bottom of the trunk. He had better not have hit Walt…

James opened the passenger door and jumped in, making the car shake a bit. He shot me a loopy grin. I turned my attention to the wheel, and stuck my key in the ignition. The car came to life, humming steadily. James began fiddling with the radio. Nothing good was on, surprise, surprise.

"Got any CDs?" He asked, looking around the interior of my car.

"Yeah," I said, reaching down to my left where the door's storage compartment was and pulling out my CD case. Normally I listened to my iPod, but seeing as my car was pre-iPod era, I couldn't connect it. Passing the case to James, I said, "I really doubt you'll find anything you like in there." James raised his eyebrows. "We'll see."

* * *

Silence fell in the car. I watched him flick past my OBC recording of "Wicked", my Arctic Monkeys CDs, and several mixes. I pulled out of the parking lot and made my way back home. Stopping at a red light, James pulled a CD out of the case and stuck it into the stereo. I instantly recognized the opening track. 

"You like Anberlin?" I asked. I was a bit shocked-I would have never pictured him as an Anberlin fan.

"Yeah. Surprised?" I could hear the hint of laughter in his voice.

"Actually I am. I didn't think you were capable of understanding poetic music." I knew it was mean, but I didn't know where it came from. I had said worse to him before.

"Ouch, Syd. You're quite catty now that you're all grown up." James said, playing with the dials. I stayed quiet. I honestly wasn't this catty when he was gone.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked, noticing my silence.

"No." I snapped, regretting it instantly. I chanced a quick look at James. He looked slightly hurt.

"What did I do to you? I know I moved away and was terrible to you but that was like three years ago! Can't you accept that I'm sorry?" James whispered. I didn't say anything; I couldn't say anything. I thought he had been playing around, not meaning what he was saying all those times. Could he really be sorry?

"Look…if you're not going to say anything, can I? We can go to Julie's, I think they're still open now-yeah it's only nine, they're still open. We can go there, and I can talk, and you can too if you want to. That okay?" I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my face. Numbly, I nodded.

I turned into Julie's after what felt like the longest car ride of my life. I've been having a lot of them lately. I got out of the car and looked over at James, who had just climbed out of the passenger's side. He pulled out his wallet and looked inside. He got to the door first, and held it open for me. I gave him a curt nod for his kind gesture, and walked inside.

* * *

Julie's was a bright place that had multicolored walls and as many flavors of ice cream as you can imagine. It was normally packed, but tonight it seemed quiet. I guess since it was the week after the fourth of July a lot of people were on vacation. 

"What do you want Syd?" I could vaguely hear James's voice.

"Uh, moose tracks please. In a cone." I muttered. I wasn't all there when I was handed my ice cream, and I had no idea what James ordered. Judging by the color I'd guess mint chocolate chip. We sat down at a table outside on the pavilion. Yet again, we sat in silence.

"So…" James started. I looked up at him. He seemed to lose his nerve.

"You wanted to talk. So why don't you." I said flatly.

"Fine. I will." James played with his napkin instead of looking at me. "Look, Syd, I know I was a jerk when I started going out with Abby…"

"And when you cornered me on my porch."

"Yeah…" He looked immensely guilty.

"And scaring me so much I fell off my swing…"

"I know, I know…"

"Twice…"

"I get it, I get it, I'm a horrible jerk!" He cried.

"Yes you are." I said, eyes flashing. "I'm glad you finally realized that."

He gave a weak smile. "At least I know that you're still the same old you. Sarcastic to the max."

"I wasn't being sarcastic that time." I snapped. I was getting sick of him-every part of him. I don't know why he couldn't just say what he wanted to say and then we could both go home and I wouldn't have to see him until the next band practice. I sighed. "Why don't you just say what you wanted to say and then we can both go home?" I said, trying to make my voice sound comforting and kind. He straightened up in his seat to try and make himself taller then me (even though he really didn't need to, he was still taller then me when he was slouching).

"When I was going out with Abby, I felt so bad about it. Then when I moved away and you wouldn't talk to me, I felt worse. The thing is, Syd…I…think I love you…"

* * *

_I know you all hate me very very very much for that, but keep in mind-I write faster with positive feedback!!!_


	11. You What? Part II

_

* * *

_

A/N- (dodges flying tomatoes, scented candles and puppies for leaving a major cliffie…) I'm sorry I'm sorry here's the next chapter! I wanted to have this chapter up long ago…getting sick doesn't help things along much…

_I also started working on flushed out character sketches for everyone in the story…need something to keep me busy till band camp…_

_Thanks to Stuffishness, fluteingaround, Chains of Reaction808, projectfreq91, XxXVampirexObsessedXxX, BandCool, itsmariscul (), Hottie12345k (reviewed twice!), and JacokNortovc (reviewed three times!) for reviewing. Thanks also to Chains of Reaction808, itsmariscul, JacokNortovc and Hottie12345k for adding DYMM to thier faves, and also special thanks to Hottie12345k for adding me to her faves authors list!_

* * *

Chapter Eleven-You What?! Part II

_Time is shorter then you know,  
I know the light is blinding to the naked eye.  
So why don't you take steps from being alone?  
I swear it's not to late for you._

_In Regards To Myself-__**Underoath**_

* * *

"The thing is, Syd…I…think I love you…" James said, his voice growing softer with every word.

_What?_

"What?" I asked, not believing my ears.

"I said, I love you!" He said, this time not losing his nerve.

This can't be happening. Again. The fact that he kept springing this kind of stuff on me was really getting on my nerves. I wasn't sure if I believed him, after all, the first time I saw him after he came back he was a total jerk to me. Why would he all of a sudden come out and say that he loved me?

"Look, James, I don't know…" I started. I honestly didn't know what to say. I have never been in this situation before. "I don't feel the same way now. I may have before everything happened…but I'm not telling you I love you too. I haven't freaking seen you in years and then you come back all of a sudden…" James bowed his head.

"I thought you'd say that." He glanced up. "I knew that I've been a jerk and every time that I left your porch I felt like kicking myself. I'm really sorry Syd; I didn't mean to make you mad. I just wanted to see you again."

"Then you're smarter then I thought you to be." I said, smiling at him. "James, now that you're acting like a normal human being, can we at least go back to being friends again?" I was a little surprised at what I said, but I'd actually like that. Being friends with him again, I mean. He was always a great friend before our falling out.

He looked up with me, and smiled happily for the first time all night.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

After our reconciliation, the summer band practices seemed to go much faster then ever before. There was now a sense of brotherhood in the high brass (there were only three of us girls, so it wouldn't be right to call it a sisterhood), and everyone seemed to get along. Adrianna was coming along nicely, although she had trouble with anything over an E.

The Friday after the last summer practice until band camp had been dubbed as High Brass Fun Night. I planned out a little party type thing to be held at my house, with just (as the title said) the high brass. My sister would probably go insane, not from the twelve band geeks running around her house, but because several of the members of my section had been dubbed "Super Squee Cute Hotness" by some of the flutes and most of the flags. And since my sister was, on many occasions, about as boy crazy as the flutes and underclassmen flags, I decided not to tell her about the party in advance. My mom thought that it was cool that I was having a lot of my friends over, especially when I told her that James was included in the group. I didn't tell her why we had become friends all of a sudden, and I didn't really plan on it. There are just some things she didn't have to know about my life. But my mother was really happy to have James around the house, (as he came by to hang out nearly every day) because she often thought of him as her third son. Avery had become quite taken with him, when she first saw him she burst out, "Ohmigosh, you're hotter then Zac!!" I can only guess she was talking about the Zac kid from that musical thing, because the Zac I knew and she's seen was no where near hot. James handled my little sister with a sense of humor, even though Avery was, as she said, "Quite seriously in love" with him.

I was, understandably, a little nervous to have James over for the first time. We left that night at the ice cream place as if we were the best of friends; and not as a boy who had punched out and then rejected by the girl he was sharing a ride with. But still, he said he loved me, and that's a little hard to ignore. Avery had always had a crush on James when we were friends, so that's _another _thing that could go wrong.

I should really stop worrying.

* * *

Friday came and Rachel woke me up by bouncing onto my bed, and nearly crushing my head. I was, of course, still in it so it was quite the scaring experience. Rachel, an Honorary Trumpet, was the only woodwind invited to the party and was over early to help me set up everything.

"What time is it?" I asked after recovering from my attack.

"It is…eleven!" Rachel yelled. I rubbed my head.

"How much Red Bull did you drink this morning?"

"Two cans!!" I groaned. Rachel was naturally extremely hyper, but Rachel on Red Bull was even worse.

"Why didn't you call before you came?" I asked, picking out clothes. Rachel bounced over to my cell phone, which was sitting next to my bed, silenced. She showed the phone to me. "I did!"

She had called indeed, and left seventeen messages on my phone.

"You know, Rach, after the sixth message at nine in the morning a normal person would have realized that the person they're calling is still asleep."

"But I'm not normal!" She yelled.

"I noticed. That's why you play woodwind." I said, moving stuff around my desk in a pitiful attempt to find my keys.

"I will forget the jibe to my instrument because I know where your keys are and I'm going to hold them over your head." She said, looking triumphant.

"Not literally over your head I hope, cause I could just grab them." I may be short, but Rachel's shorter then me.

"I hate you." She stuck her tongue out at me.

"That's good then. You hate me, yet you're in my house trying to find my secret Swedish Fish stock. Here's a hint-it's not there." Rachel was halfway under my bed; trying to find the legendary stock. She crawled back out and sighed. "I'll never find it." She stood back up and dragged me out of the room in order to get to the grocery store; forgetting that I was still wearing my star flannel pants and middle school honors band shirt.

Getting back later in the day, we threw table cloths over the tables and poured snacks into bowls to be set around outside near the pool. I even took from my Swedish Fish stock to add to the amount of goodies we had lying around. Rachel and I stood on the porch, admiring our fifteen minutes of not that hard work. We bowed to each other for some reason, and headed back inside.

Let the party begin.

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_A/N-I don't like the ending personally, but I really really really want to get this chapter up. So review if you liked, or even if you didn't, I love hearing what you guys think. I promise I'll be faster on the next one!_


	12. Party Surprises And Conversations

_A/N-This chapter shall be forever known to me as the blackout chapter, since most of it was written longhand at my kitchen table in the middle of a blackout. _

_Thanks to projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Hottie12345k, itsmariscul, and maria.boom.baby. for reviewing. Special thanks to maria.boom.baby. for adding this to her faves!_

_Also, thanks to JacokNortovc, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k for reviewing my DYMM one shot, 'The Honorary Trumpet'. _

_I don't own the lyrics. _

* * *

Chapter Twelve-Party Surprises And Conversations

_Save yourself, serve yourself.  
World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed.  
Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right - right.  
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright  
light, feeling pretty psyched.  
It's the end of the world as we know it.  
It's the end of the world as we know it.  
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine_.

_It's The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - __**R.E.M.**_

* * *

Rachel and I sat around outside waiting for everyone to show up. Being boys (well, most of them), they were probably going to be late or get lost, regardless of how many times they've come over to my house. James was the first one to show up, walking through my backdoor after talking to my mom and getting drooled on by my sister. He cleaned up decently, I must say. My sister thought so also, because she was now outside staring at James. He looked at her with an amused smile and waved.

"I see you sister still has the hots for me." He said. "But then again, who wouldn't?" He smiled cockily at me. Rachel threw a full can of soda at his head. Have I mentioned how much I love my best friend?

"Oww…hey you don't play trumpet!" James said, pointing at Rachel.

"Yeah we know, but in our freshman year she spent more time hanging out with the trumpets then her own section so we made her an honorary trumpet." I informed him. This was the kind of stuff he missed out on when he was wherever-he-was. I still haven't found out where he went. Every time I asked he would change the subject. Eventually, I just decided to forget it.

Adrianna was the next to arrive. She looked nervous, and I could only guess that this was her first party with kids older then her. She put her stuff down and made her way over to where we sat.

"Hey," She said softly. Adrianna needed to come out of her shell. Lessons with her have been dominated with trying to get to play forte consistently.

"Hi!" Rachel yelled. She used to be quiet in her freshman year, but then when she started hanging out with the trumpets more, she came out of her shell and became indefinitely hyper in public. James nodded in her direction. I stood up so she could have my chair and be more comfortable around everyone. She was going to be one of the only freshmen here, and the only female underclassman besides Gen. She took my seat and looked up at me, grateful. I headed inside to see who else had come-Brian, a trumpet player in my grade, and Gen, a sophomore mello were standing around in my kitchen. Showing them outside, I ran to get the door for a small gaggle of underclassmen that were pounding at the doorbell. Never before had I wanted to kill that stupid chime, but now I realized how annoying it truly was. Letting the freshies in, they bolted for the backdoor and dog-piled into the pool. Silly freshmen. Figuring that everyone else could just see themselves in, I went back into the yard to see how much destruction the freshies had wrought. In only five minutes of being outside, they were already using the foam noodles to beat themselves silly.

It looked like fun.

* * *

After telling everyone who didn't know where the bathrooms were, I lead the girls upstairs so we could change without getting walked in on. Avery was pretty mad when I told her to get out of her room for a few minutes so Rachel could change, but she got over it fairly quickly when I told her that if she went downstairs she could see James without a shirt on. She bolted from the room. My sister is very simple.

The four of us walked back downstairs to see all the guys in the kitchen eating. There was food going everywhere. Adrianna's eyes went large for a moment, and Natalie, Gen and I had a laugh, remembering our first time seeing teenage male brass players eat. They were messy, to say the least. Somehow, the four of us managed to sneak out into the back yard with plates loaded with chips and tomato pie without getting mauled by the boys and we found a nice place to sit down in the grass. The dogs ran over to us and tried to lick our plates. I picked up Cadence, my dachshund and sat her down next to me. She laid down and tried to get our attention. I threw a chip to get Bilbo to go away; the massive yellow lab bounded away after it, his nose to the ground and trying to find it.

The boys all ran out of the house at once, jumping and slamming into the pool. They picked up their noodles and continued their fight; they had yet to notice us sitting there. I stood up and put my plate down on the table, away from the dogs. I peeled off my t-shirt and jumped into the water, landing on someone. When I came up, a miffed looking James was treading water only a few inches away from me. He swam in front of me and moved in so close to my face that I could see every freckle on his nose. He was close. Too close. My heart beat faster; I knew what James could do. And I knew he wouldn't be afraid to do it in front of the rest of the guys. Underwater, his hand brushed mine. He moved even closer to me…

SPLASH.

Rachel surfaced, glaring daggers at James. He seemed to snap out of his trance and he swam away, red faced. Rachel paddled over to where I was. My hands were clenched in fists. I was furious. _Why does he think he can kiss me every time he sees me?!_

Well you almost let him.

_He surprised me! _

C'mon Syd-stop letting him do this to you! Go enjoy your party!

_Yes ma'am!_

"You okay? I saw everything." Rachel peered into my eyes, as if trying to see what I was thinking. It was a good thing she couldn't-she'd probably have me committed if she heard my brain feuding with itself.

"Yeah I'm okay. Thanks." I smiled gratefully at her. I know she didn't believe that I was alright-I didn't even believe that I was alright-but she didn't say anything else on the subject. She reached over and handed me a noodle.

"Go beat the crap out of him. It'll make you feel so much better."

Rachel certainly knows me better then myself. I happily took the noodle, whacking Brian in the back of the head as I went.

* * *

The party was slowly wrapping up. A few of the people who could drive had left, so it was Rachel, James, the underclassmen and I. We sat around talking and hanging out in my basement. A few of the freshies found my Guitar Hero stuff, and begged me to play. Of course, I let them. Guitar Hero was one of few multi-player games that I had, and I welcomed them to it. James kept trying to get me alone to talk (or so he said), but Rachel kept getting in between us, pulling me away from him. Every time that she did that I reminded myself that she was getting an amazing birthday present. Rachel was a lot of things-clarinetist, pianist, actress and a girlfriend, but first and foremost she was my best friend. I owed a lot to her-especially now, as she's saving me from another confrontation with James.

James. His name made my skin crawl, it made me want to run away across the border and never come back, but most of all it made me hurt. It reminded me of all the good times-and all the bad times-we've had, but it reminded me that we can never go back to what we were all those years ago. When boys had cooties and your parents were your biggest heroes. We're too big now, too big to be 'just friends'. It must have happened somewhere in between learning that we couldn't fit in the play pen at McDonalds and the time he came back. It made me sad.

Finally, everyone cleared out, with Rachel the last to leave. We hugged, and she made me swear that I would call her tomorrow. As if I needed reminding. We talked on the phone nearly every day, most of the time it was about nothing. Rachel picked up her keys and beeped as she pulled out of my driveway. I watched her leave from the window, waving the entire time.

I started picking up stuff down in the basement, with my iPod blaring from my speakers and my PS2 still running. I shut off the game system and decided, after looking at the couch longingly for several minutes, that I would lie down for a little bit.

* * *

"Hey there, wake up sleepy-head!" I was pulled from my slumber by a cheery, booming voice. I would know that voice anywhere.

"Grandpop!" I cried, jumping off of the couch and disentangling myself from the blankets. "What are you doing here? What time is it?" I asked him after giving him a big hug.

"Did you forget what day it is?" He asked, feigning sadness.

"Um…yes?"

"I live here now!" He said, his wrinkled face lighting up. I was confused for a moment, but then I remembered-today was Grandpop's official moving in day. I hugged him again, breathing in the smell of wood and valve oil.

For the past few weeks, my brothers and I have helped Grandpop move his stuff into his room, which used to be the attic. We cleaned it out and turned it into a nice little space for him. It was repainted and we bought rugs for the wooden floors. Last weekend my older brother Danny and I lugged up a wardrobe, a dresser, his bookshelf, and a small desk. I spent a lot of time repainting the furniture for him. It looked as if it hadn't been done for nearly twenty years. Over the last few days, Grandpop's stuff arrived in boxes with Dad when he came home from work. I took it upon myself to put my grandfather's entire book collection on the shelves and put all his music into neat piles on the desk. My grandfather had been a music teacher for many years, but he also wrote a lot of music. Most of it was theory work, but there was music in there too. He wrote a book on music theory back in the seventies. I have one of the first copies of the book. It was the copy that Grandpop gave to my grandmother. It was really helpful in my first two years of music theory, and it'll probably help me out even more this year in A.P. Music Therory III.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

"Not sure, exactly. I don't that your parents are up yet, but that's okay. Gives me time to raid the fridge." He winked.

"Have you got anything in your car that you need to bring in?"

"Yeah, but that can wait a bit. You were asleep on the couch, you've gotta be sore." He said, looking at me. He said down at the place I once was asleep on. I stretched out a bit. Sure, my neck was a bit stiff, but after stretching it didn't feel so bad.

"How's your knee?" He asked, looking at my leg.

"Eh, same old, same old." I said off-handedly. I always had weak knees, and last year during a drumline show I tripped on the tarp. The knee I landed on hasn't really been the same since. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with me, so I always had to watch out for it and wear a knee brace if I was marching.

"Is everything alright? You seem quiet." Grandpop was another person who knew me more then I did. It's getting annoying-living in a person who didn't know who she was.

"Well, there's this boy…" I trailed off, not really knowing what to say. It wasn't everyday I talked to my grandfather about boys.

"Oh, well I used to be one of them once. Do you want to tell me about it?"

"See, he moved away a few years ago and dated my arch enemy right before he left. And he was my best friend. Now he's back, and says he's sorry for everything and he also said that he loves me on top of that. I just don't know what to do!" I practically exploded. To my surprise, Grandpop smiled.

"That sounds familiar."

"Familiar?! What are you talking about?" I know that my life has turned into one of Avery's soaps, but I didn't know that it was that obvious! (Or that my grandfather watched soap operas).

"That's pretty much how your grandmother and I were." He had a wistful look on his face. It was the look he got whenever he started to talk about Grandma. He was so in love with her.

"What?!"

"It's true Sydney. I'm not proud of it." He looked remorseful. "Your Grandma and I weren't always in love. Well at least she wasn't in love with me. There was a time that I thought she hated me-and then she confirmed it. We were always rivals in band, even though we didn't play the same instrument. I always loved her though, even when we were little. But I always said the wrong thing or acted the wrong way. I hurt her." He looked downright miserable. It killed me to see him like this. I really wanted to give him a hug.

"Then I did the worst thing I could have ever done-I dated her arch rival. She was a majorette. Pretty, too. But she had nothing on Elizabeth. Elizabeth was an angel. I didn't know that she hated Elizabeth, and that Elizabeth hated her. So basically, I made things worse between us. She wouldn't look at me, not even to glare at me. Elizabeth was furious, the girl was happy, and I was miserable.

"Then I dumped the girl and begged for Elizabeth's forgiveness. I didn't know why she was so mad. Turned out she liked me all along, but she was too proud to admit it!" He smiled at the story's happy ending. "See Sydney, you're not the only one with that same problem. It happens all the time." He looked at me happily. My mind was in a whirl. So Grandpop and Grandma were like the fifties version of James and I? But they ended up married…and I can't see that in James and my future. All of a sudden I had a vision of me in a white dress…no! Bad brain, very very bad!

"Well Sydney, those boxes aren't going to move themselves. We'd better start getting them inside." Grandpop stood up and clapped his hands onto my shoulders.

"You're a smart girl, Sydney. I'm sure you'll figure out everything between you and James." I nodded numbly and watched him head up the stairs. Then I remembered something.

"Grandpop, wait!" He turned around. "Yes?"

"How did you know it was James?" I asked. He smiled wisely at me.

"Who else would it be? And besides, he was standing outside when I pulled in, with a handful of pebbles trying to find your window. I asked him who he was and he remembered me from when you two were little. He told me everything about you two and what's happened with you both. I advised him against the pebbles. I did the same thing once to Elizabeth's window," He grimaced, "And I couldn't sit down for three days." Grandpop turned around and headed back up the stairs. I stayed in the basement for a minute thinking about what my grandfather told me. Then with a grin on my face, I ran up the stairs to help him with the boxes.

* * *

_A/N-Longest chapter to date yay me! Leave a review if you want to!_


	13. Beginning Again

_A/N-Thanks to athena's guard, itsmariscul, Hottie12345k, JacokNortovc, Gen, Silvorfithrade, maria.boom.baby. and projectfreq91 for reviewing! Special thanks to itsmariscul, athena's guard, and Silvorfithrade for adding me and DYMM to their faves!_

_Thanks to Silvorfithrade, dutchesscourtney and fluteingaround for reviewing my DYMM one shot, 'The Honorary Trumpet'_

_Sorry for all the errors in the last chappie, I lost power twice writing it and so some stuff got cut out and such. _

* * *

Chapter Thirteen-Beginnings Again

_I've got that lefty curse,  
Where everything I do is flipped and awkwardly reversed.  
You're seldom known and barely missed.  
I always put myself in destructive situations,  
I need oxygen to be exposed where no one goes,  
Where no one's been.  
When it all comes crashing…_

_We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands-__**The Academy Is...**_

* * *

I looked at the open, empty duffle bag on my bed and groaned. I had to pack for band camp (which conveniently we left for tomorrow), and I had yet to start. Every year the band went away to Camp Wiscosuta for two weeks. You could opt to go home for the weekend in between the two weeks, and over half the band did. This year, like last year, I was going to stay. I liked the camp-the cabins were pretty cool, the showers weren't disgusting, and the pool was open on weekends. It's a decent sized camp too, so when there's only thirty other people there on the weekends, it's pretty empty. I didn't mind that.

I finally decided to stop staring at the bag wishing it would just fill itself (it didn't), and pulled open a drawer. I threw in a few band member shirts, some indoor drumline shirts, shorts, and a few pairs of jeans and sweatpants. I packed in my pajamas and my Cavaliers hoodie. I made sure I had enough socks and my ever important sneakers. It would suck so much if I forgot those. Marching in flip-flops was not an option.

Packing was really boring. It was the only part I hated about band camp. I had friends in other schools that didn't go away for band camp-they marched out on a soccer field and had sectionals in hallways. And on rainy days they had to march in the gym. I hated gym marching. It was annoying, small, and the field hockey team or the cheerleaders normally kicked us out after an hour of practice.

I wrapped up all of the tech stuff that I needed, and carefully stuck it in between my clothes for padding. I turned off my iPod and put it on hold. I put it into the backpack that I was taking with me on the bus. I stuck a few magazines in my bag to prevent the downtime boredom. Yawning I grabbed my lesson books from my music stand and nearly tripped on my French horn. It was my grandmother's, and it was given to me on my thirteenth birthday. It was one of the few things of hers that I had, so I treasured the silver horn along with Walt. I knew how to play it fairly well; brass instruments just came naturally to me. I wasn't going to be taking that with me-the horn was too valuable to be taken to band camp, and it was really heavy.

After I finished throwing everything into my bag, I looked at my iPod for the time. I had been packing for nearly an hour. Packing was like gift wrapping to me-I hated it, I was terrible at it, and it was evil and boring. I decided I deserved a break, even though if I took one I would never finish. I grabbed my phone and called Rachel. Packing could wait.

* * *

Everyone gathered in the band room on Sunday evening. It was the day before band camp, and as tradition, we left the night before so everyone could get settled. It was rather tight in the small room with everyone, their instruments or equipment, and their luggage. Camp was over an hour away, and we had to leave by seven so we could get there at a decent time. As a section leader, I had to help with loading everything. It was not pretty. Many people were tired and a bit cranky, to say the least. Abby sat on a patch of grass near the parking lot, painting her nails and complaining. I had to restrain Sean from throwing his trombone at her several times. She may be annoying, but she's good. It drove me insane.

After helping a baritone push his instrument onto the truck and nearly avoiding getting crushed by a tuba-induced avalanche, all the instruments were finally loaded. We forcefully dragged the pit away from their instruments and made them board the bus first so they had no way of escape once the battery settled in and moved all their stuff around. I grabbed my own bag and stuffed into the undercarriage under the bus and stepped up onto the bus. The band normally got two buses-the drumline bus and the guard bus. The drumline was all on one bus and the guard took the other with the rest of the band filling in. With over eighty of us, we were quite backed. This year, however, the school decided to fork out a little more money for a third bus. I noticed most of the freshman going onto that bus. I was on the drumline bus as normal-they accepted me as their own because I marched bass drum in indoor. Rachel followed me onto the bus and plopped down next to me. We were near the back of the bus in front of the battery, since they claimed the back rows for themselves. After roll call, Coolidge gave the go-ahead to leave the parking lot. We let out a loud cheer as we pulled away from the school.

The bus ride was always really long and really loud. It was always loud with my friends from the battery, blaring their music from portable speakers. Rachel was happily bouncing in time to the music, causing me to hit the window on several occasions. I glared angrily at her but could stop laughing after watching her fall off of the seat. James was a few seats ahead of us, occasionally looking back and trying to catch my eye and start a conversation. Every time I turned up my iPod to something loud and pointed at my ear buds every time he tried to say something. Rude, yes, but what he had done to me in the past month and a half had been so much worse.

Band camp was always an exciting thing for me, even when I was a freshman and had no idea what I was getting into. The camp itself was fun and known for making friendships that lasted for years. I was still in touch with several graduated band members, and they would come to some of our competitions later in the year. It was like a big reunion for us, and we would terrify many freshmen with our massive tackle hugs. I looked out the window again and tried to tell where we were. No luck. There were just trees and trees and more trees. Every tree looked the same. It felt like we had been traveling down the same road forever. I rested my head on the window and before I knew it, I was asleep.

* * *

I woke up when I felt someone jump onto my seat. I bounced off the window and smacked my head on the metal bar keeping the window attached to the bus. I angrily cursed under my breath and turned to give Rachel a retaliatory poke only to find that it wasn't Rachel that had jumped. Who else could it be? James, of course, was sitting next to me with a sad look in his eyes. I looked around for Rachel and saw her sitting with one of the girls in the pit; apparently in deep conversation.

"If you wanted to wake me up, you could have just shaken me or something." I growled. James grinned that stupid loopy smile at me. "Yeah but jumping's more fun." I rolled my eyes. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize to you."

"Yet again."

"Yeah…I screwed up again." James said. He was speaking as if everything he said as if it killed him to say it.

"Yes you did. I'll forgive you, but unless we are in marching band, stay away from me." I said, anger filling my eyes and my heart. I won't have a boy ruin my life. I'll ruin my own life, thank you very much! James looked pained, but he nodded.

"If you really feel that way, Syd, then fine." He said as he made to go back to his seat.

"James?" I called. He whipped around, a look of hope in his eyes. Ignoring it, I said, "Don't call me Syd." Defeated, he slouched back to his seat. Rachel sent me an odd look from behind me, and I shrugged in return, mouthing "It's nothing."

I was absorbed in my thoughts when I heard a loud cheer go through the bus. I could see the sign for Camp Wiscosuta go by as the bus turned into the parking lot. At least I could devote myself to the band for two weeks and not concentrate on James, the unwanted distraction. The bus parked and the doors open. I stood and stretched. Time to begin again at band camp.


	14. It Came From The Black Lagoon

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Silvorfithrade, and itsmariscul for reviewing! Thanks also to Daynight07 for favoriting this story! I don't own the lyrics._

Chapter Fourteen- It Came From The Black Lagoon

_BOTH:  
There's been some confusion  
For you see, my roommate is,_

_GLINDA:  
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar  
And altogether quite impossible to describe-  
ELPHABA:  
Blonde._

_What Is This Feeling?-__**Wicked**_

* * *

"SECTION LEADERS OFF THE BUS NOW!" Megan screamed from outside. An indoor guard member herself, she was on the guard bus. Stepping over Rachel, I grabbed my backpack and hurried off the bus. The wrath of Megan was not one to be taken lightly.

Stumbling off the bus, I walked over to Megan where the most of the section leaders were. Megan glanced around at all of us, as if taking a mental head count. She walked back over to the drumline bus and got on. We all watched, amused, as Megan lead Noah out by his ear.

"Ow ow ow ow, Meggie cut your fingernails will you?!" Noah pleaded with his girlfriend. She didn't let up. When Noah was situated in the section leader circle and rubbing his now-red ear, Megan started to speak.

"Okay guys, we've got to help unload the trucks and the buses. Get everyone into sections and then give them their cabin assignments. I've got them all right here." She reached into her bag and pulled out manila envelopes with section names on them. "The master lists are in here saying where everyone's staying. We did our bests to keep everyone with their friends, but you know…things happen." Megan looked at me when she said that. That can't be good. Megan handed out everyone's folder, telling us that there were instructions inside saying when we'd be out patrolling the camp at night. She dismissed us, asking that Noah, Sean and I help get instruments out of the truck. Megan must have obviously forgotten that Sean nearly dropped a tuba on me, but oh well. Abby was assigned to help the freshmen, so we wouldn't have much contact with each other.

The three of us walked to the truck, parked just before the buses and with help from the driver, opened it. The pit captain, Sam, came over from where he was gathering his section to help us with the more delicate instruments (he had witness my near tuba induced concussion, so it was probably a good idea). We dragged the battery drums out first, since they were packed towards the front, and worked our way back. Most of the flutes, pics, and clarinets carried their instruments with them on the bus, so all we had to worry about were the bigger expensive instruments. Lining up the trumpets and altos so they were in general sections, we took longer getting out the low winds, tubas, trombones, and baritones off, since they were a lot heavier compared to an alto. I resisted the urge to give Christian's tenor a strong kick; it wasn't the sax's fault that its player was a heartbreaking naïve jerk and it would probably do more pain then good.

* * *

After shutting the truck back up, I grabbed Walt and with one hand opened my cabin assignments. I scanned down my list, quickly noting that Natalie was in my cabin, along with a few of my friends in the guard, and my insane piccolo playing friend. Seemed like we weren't going to get a lot of sleep for two weeks-someone was bound to have large amounts of sugar on them. My bet was it would be Kristen, the piccolo player. She was like Rachel, only with a more painful instrument. I walked over to my section and ran down the list of rules and handed out room assignments and told everyone to get their instruments. As the boys (and Adri) sprinted off to get their stuff, I found myself getting tackled by Rachel.

"We're in the same cabin!!" She yelled happily. Rachel got excited easily. She put down my duffle bag (which she had gotten for me while I was unloading instruments) and pulled out her cabin list.

"I only got a chance to look at it really fast, cause I wanted to get our stuff before it got trampled…" We huddled over the list. Silence fell between us as we read the list. We finished at the same time, and stared at each other in horror.

"WHAT?!" We both screamed. I grabbed the list to see if my eyes were misleading me and that it was a trick of the light, but no-it was right there. At the very bottom of the sheet was 'Abigail Kramer-Junior, Flute'. Rachel was running around in a little circle in anger and panic. Abby was her cousin after all, so she had spent days at her house while her parents were away, and she said that staying with her cousin was torture. And according to her, it wasn't any better when Abby came to stay. I believed her.

Abby was an absolute nightmare. She's a perfectionist with everything, and she doesn't know when to shut her mouth. Some of that (okay, well all) could apply to me, but at least I was friendly with my section. Abby was a drill sergeant (which I will become at band camp, I know it. But Abby was a drill sergeant outside of band too. At least I was nice! To some people anyway…). What really annoyed me was how she talked down to people-even people in her grade and seniors! She didn't have a lot of fans in the marching band.

And there was the undeniable fact that Christian was her umpteenth boyfriend and she was the reason James stopped talking to me all those years ago…

Okay, Sydney, calm down. None of her friends are in your cabin. Chances are she'll be gone most of the time.

_Or she'll bring them to your cabin. _

If she does we'll blare loud music.

_What if they like the music?_

They won't. It'll be Weird Al. Or Monty Python.

_What kind of person doesn't like Weird Al or Monty Python?_

The stupid kind. The Abby kind.

While the voices in my head argued about Weird Al and Monty Python (I swear I'm not going crazy…not yet anyway), Rachel and I walked over to Cabin 5. We knew exactly where it was, since it was the cabin we stayed in our freshman year. A couple other people were already there. I recognized them-Laura; one of the most skilled rifle tossers I've ever seen and a shoe-in for next year's guard captain, Kristen (whose insanity was second only to Rachel), Missy; a good friend of mine who was second tenor in jazz band and an all around cool person, and in the back of the room was none other then the root of all evil herself-Abby Kramer.

Abby glared at us when we walked in as if we were carriers of the plague. Missy and Kirsten bounded over to see us. Laura was spinning her rifle but smiled at us as we dropped our stuff onto the bunk next to Missy's and Kirsten's. Rachel scrambled up to the top while I made myself at home on the bottom one. Missy and I talked for a bit and watched as Natalie attempted to put a poster on the ceiling. It didn't go as she planned, and we became on the receiving end of some nasty Abby comments. Missy threw Abby a dirty look, and reminded her how she didn't get into jazz band on flute.

Catfight!

Thankfully, there wasn't one, but Abby looked furious. She had barely missed jazz band, thanks to the sudden audition of a freakishly good sophomore who beat out Abby by a half a point. The sophomore, who is in the band, decided to march alto sax this year, which was probably a good idea because Abby was not a happy camper when she found out she didn't make it. 'Ready to kill' would be a good way to describe her-then and now.

After a stare down between the two girls, Abby turned her back and went back to her book. We haven't even been here half an hour, and I was afraid to go to sleep because she knew where I slept! I turned to Missy.

"So should we open up a bet to see who will be the first one Abby kills?"

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_A/N-Reviews make me write faster!!_

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	15. One Girl Army

_A/N-Thanks to Silvorfithrade, Hottie12345k, itsmariscul, projectfreq91, and JacokNortovc for reviewing! I don't own the lyrics. This story has gotten over 2,100 hits-thanks everyone!! _

* * *

Chapter Fifteen- One Girl Army

_She is strong but never silent,  
__Sure of where her truth/strength comes from.  
__One day, one girl army will overcome.  
__Treading the current, issues at hand,  
__Shifting, we sway, from justice and then back again._

_One Girl Army- **Five Iron Frenzy**_

* * *

By some miracle we all survived the night. Abby wasn't in her bunk when we woke up the next morning and neither was Kirsten-so either they had flute sectionals or Kirsten was the first one of us to be murdered. 

After Missy's and Abby's stare down last night, the remaining people who were sharing our cabin with us arrived-Sarah, a quiet girl in my grade with a taste for loud music and extreme vibe chops; Gen, the mello player and only underclassman in the cabin and Izzy, the only girl in the low brass. The rest of the evening went by in silence- the other girls seemed to notice the tension in the room, and stayed out of the way. Abby snapped at anyone who got in her way. Missy however, was calm and cool.

"So what if she's mad at me? I really don't care. I play tenor, not flute." Missy said, flipping her hair out of her eyes.

Missy may be right, but I'd rather not die at sixteen.

* * *

The first morning of band camp was all about instruction. Drill sheets were handed out. Curfews were set. Rules were read, read again, and re-read. Then we saw a presentation from the president of the band boosters telling us all about the 'wonders of fundraising'. Towards this point, most band members were asleep again. I made sure I looked like I was focused, but I let my mind wander. I could see the field outside. It wasn't too hot out and I was dying to be out in the warm air. I didn't like the indoors-especially now. I was bored. Bored out of my mind. 

What seemed like a very long time later, we were told to get into a block on the side of the field. We'd be marching in fives this year, and with over eighty members in the band it worked. The color guard was in the front of the block, and the battery would be bringing up the rear. The pit was in front of the battery for learning forwards marching, since they marched as the honor guard for parades. Trumpets fell in behind the altos. All the section leaders were on the end of each line so it was easy for us to fall out to check our sections. The trumpets and mellos took up two and a half lines. There were twelve of us, so two of the mellos shared spots in the tenor line. It took the band a while to get everyone into a block, since we had many rookies. Abby was having a tough time with her flutes. Many of them didn't want to listen to her, after the summer practices, they had already learned of the evil of Abby. I worked the high brass line so that rookies were surrounded by vets. I made sure that Adrianna was next to me, since she was the one who needed the most help and guidance this season. She was really looking up to me now-she was thrilled to find out that she was next to me in the block. I put James very far away, for obvious reasons.

Megan came up wielding a pair of drumsticks (mine, which I had let her borrow) and started talking about the basics of marching. Most of the brass knew about marching thanks to the sectional practices that Sean and I worked on. They knew the basics of marking time and forward and backwards marching. We had yet to get to stop-and-goes. Compared to the rest of the band, the brass was doing great. The rookies were in step the majority of the time, and we were on the receiving end of multiple compliments from the drum major and Coolidge.

And they (well really just Sean) scoffed at my idea for sectionals being used for marching time!

* * *

By the time they let us fall out to get the water bottles the boosters were providing, my voice was a little sore from yelling "Left, left!" every time the drumsticks hit. Adrianna was having troubles marching. She had been fairly decent when it had just been the brass section, but now that she was in the full block, she was freaking out. At least she wasn't on the very edge; Coolidge would have called her out so fast her head would have been spinning. We weren't marching with instruments yet, which was probably a good thing. People would have died. 

Overall, the first day had been spent teaching the rookies how to march, and re-teaching certain vets how to march. I decided to give the high brass time to relax and didn't schedule a sectional for tonight. I'd start up with music sectionals tomorrow night-but for now, I'd let them get a good night's sleep. They'd need it.

I had signed up for the mandatory section leader patrol duties on Mondays and Wednesdays, so at ten to nine, I grabbed my drumline hoodie (it had cooled down significantly from earlier) and my phone and went to go meet my mystery partner down by the mess hall. I'd be patrolling with them, since it was one of the top rules in band that we use the buddy system. I really hoped my buddy wasn't Abby, because if it was, I was going to go tell the buddy system to go jump off a cliff. My cabin was in the middle of the girl's wing of camp, with the mess hall in the middle near the fields we practiced on. My freakish desire to get to places early that made me leave the warmth of the currently Abby-less cabin got me to the mess hall far earlier then my partner. I stood alone wrapped up in my black sweatshirt.

The crunch of footsteps behind me announced the arrival of my counterpart. I was relieved when I head that they were coming from the boy's side of the camp, which meant it wasn't Abby. I turned around to see that it was Sean. His shaggy red hair was quite visible in the dark.

"Hey!" I called. Sean looked up and broke into a smile. He jogged over to where I was standing.

"Hey." Sean sat down in the grass next to me. I looked at him and laughed.

"You know we have to go walk around for an hour and a half." I said, giggling. Sean groaned and hung his head.

"Do I have to?" He asked, reminding me of my little brother when told he had to go clean his room.

"Yes." I said, offering him my hand which he took. Sean pulled himself up to full height (which, naturally was far taller then I was). He smiled at me…and for some reason I felt my stomach do a flip. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind-it was probably just a reaction to dinner.

Sean and I started off towards the boy's side of the camp. They were normally far rowdier then the girls at night. Last year there was an all out section war in the boy's side which involved a late night pillow fight. Coolidge never punished anyone, but we all knew that he knew. The boys didn't get any sleep at all and nearly fell asleep on the field. For the girls, it was hysterical for us to watch.

Curfew was at nine thirty, section leaders had to patrol the camp from nine to ten thirty to make sure everyone was in their respective cabins. Lights out wasn't until eleven. We walked around knocking on all the doors reminding everyone when curfew was and making sure that there were no girls in the cabins. Girls could be in the boys' cabins and vice versa until eight. We didn't bust anyone for being in the wrong cabin, and after walking up and down the row of cabins we walked back out to near the mess hall. We were on our way to Make Out Row to clear that out. Make Out Row was the small area between the mess hall and the outline of the woods. There was nearly ten minutes until curfew, and it would probably take that long to clear out all the couples. I personally thought that Make Out Row was one of the most stupid unromantic things I've ever heard of. Sean looked a bit embarrassed being back there, so I guessed that it was his first time back in Make Out Row too.

There was only one couple there. I couldn't really see who it was, since it was really dark back here.

"Hey!" I yelled. "It's almost curfew! Go back to your cabins!" The couple pulled apart and turned around to look at us. When I saw who it was, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. It was Abby and Christian, the latter looking a bit embarrassed. Abby, however, looked haughty and annoyed that they had been interrupted.

"Come on, Chris, you can walk me to my cabin." Abby said, her voice sickly sweet. She walked past me, glaring at me and shooting a flirty glance at Sean. Christian followed her, nodding at me and Sean as he passed. I clenched my fists in anger. Of course I still liked Christian-after all I had liked him for a long time. It was impossible to stop liking someone in an instant.

Sean came up from behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" He asked, concerned. I turned around to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I muttered. I had to get over this! He was with Abby now. I was strong; my talents didn't rely on a boyfriend. I plastered a smile on my face. I'd be fine. Maybe not now, but for now I could tell everyone I was.

"C'mon, we've got more patrolling to do." I said, walking away from Make Out Row. Sean gave me a weird look, and watched me walk away.

"Hey wait up!" He cried, after realizing that I already passed the mess hall.

* * *

_A/N- Review please!!!_


	16. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

_

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_

A/N- Thanks to JacokNortovc, Silvorfithrade, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, Jollibee, Kojin, maria.boom.baby and itsmariscul () for reviewing! Thanks also to jhewleigh and Kojin for adding this to their favorites! Sorry for the wait…first week of school, band, and all the drama that goes with it makes writing time very limited. I did get a good chunk of this chapter written in geometry though…yay for not paying attention! Anyway, lyrics aren't mine. There's a KHII reference in here, see if you get it! It's not too obscure…I'm done with this phenomenally long author's note now, I swear.

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Chapter Sixteen- A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

_Like the clouds bring a darkness and a hard rain's gonna fall,  
And all my laughter ends in emptiness and a hard rain's gonna fall,  
My every medicine caused more illness and a hard rain's gonna fall,  
But until I let you go I didn't know, you were never mine at all.  
But now I spend my days in ever-increasingly complicated ways,  
Convincing myself of the rightness of each word,  
I say my exit, unfair if unobserved!_

_My Exit, Unfair-__**mewithoutYou**_

* * *

The rest of patrolling was a quiet affair. I was fuming and Sean seemed afraid to say anything in fear of getting on my bad side. While I was good at keeping my temper most of the time, when I didn't I exploded. Few people have been on the receiving end of my fury. What happened to James hadn't even been the tip of the iceberg.

Sean, being a gentleman, offered to walk me back to my cabin. Not really wanting to be alone, and also feeling guilty for being angry, I agreed. Sean was just a friend…after Christian I really don't know what to think about my guy friends right about now. Sure, they were great-they were funny, protective, and stupid (in a good way, of course). But most of them weren't a lot of help when it came to female emotions. The boys I hung out with had no idea how to deal with a crying girl-even I didn't know how to deal with a crying girl, and I am a girl! I do have Natalie, the much more sensitive of the two of us. I preferred to bottle all my emotions. Natalie understands emotions far better then I do, or ever will.

When we arrived at my cabin, Sean flashed his smile at me again. Again, my stomach flipped.

"Hope you're okay, Syd. I've got your back." He said, wrapping me in a tight hug. Shocked, but not really surprised, I hugged him back. Sean had hugged me many times before. But now, it felt different. Really different. He held me tighter and longer then he normally did.

This is getting really weird.

Breaking the hug, Sean looked down at me. "Night Sydney."

"Yeah…good night…" I said, watching over my shoulder and attempting to open the door at the same time. Wrong move, since I wound up smacking myself in the face with the door. Sean nearly fell over laughing as he watched me rub my jaw and curse at the door under my breath. I waved from the doorframe once I actually managed to get inside. He turned back and headed for the boy's cabins.

The cabin, which had been quiet when I was outside, burst into full volume the second I stepped inside. Rachel jumped off of her bed and ran over to me, Missy hot on her heels. Abby threw me the usual evil eye.

"You're going have to tell us everything!" Missy said, grabbing my arm and leading me to my bunk.

"Wha-what?" I was confused. Rachel took pity on me.

"Number one, you were on patrol with one of the cutest boys in the band. Number two, Abby burst in here ranting and raving about you, saying some pretty nasty stuff, but she wouldn't explain why! So explain! Now!"

Abby took this time to stalk across the room, grab Laura's arm (Laura was friends with practically everyone, including Abby), and dragged her back over to talk. Abby glared at me and Laura looked confused. Missy threw her a dirty look and turned away from her.

"Look, just tell us what happened, and then it can be all over."

"I don't know why she'd be so mad, all Sean and I kicked her and Christian out of Make Out Row…" I said. Missy's eyes went wide. She hadn't been at Rachel's party, since she had been away on vacation at the time. Missy always suspected that I liked Christian, but I had never told her straight out. Rachel let out a low whistle.

"That's bad." She said.

"Yeah, really bad." Missy agreed. "She only came in about fifteen minutes ago, and she's already trashed everything about you."

"Yep. And Sean looked different when he was patrolling with you." Natalie said.

_What?!_

"How did you know?!" I asked in a low hiss so only Missy and Rachel could hear me.

"Ha! So it is true! Missy you owe me a dollar." Rachel said triumphantly. Missy scowled. I was confused.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" I ask them as Missy pulled her canvas purse over and pulled out her wallet.

"Well we were watching out the window, and we could see you two." Rachel stated.

"And since these walls are paper thin, we could hear almost everything." Missy said flatly, giving the wall a flick. "We saw everything, even the hug-"

"But what was he saying? His back was to us, we couldn't hear."

"And way to use your face as a doorstop." Missy added.

"Yeah that move was pure genius." Rachel smirked.

"Oh shut up, I know, I know." I said, throwing a pillow at them. "All he said was goodnight and he gave me a hug."

"Is it just us or did that seem like a more-than-friend hug?" Missy asked. "All we could see was his back, but I thought it looked different." Missy's an expert on boys. Her parents are divorced; she lives with her dad and four brothers. She's learned a lot about from her all-male family, but Missy and I look so similar we're often confused for sisters when we're out together. Many a time on the spring drumline trip for Championships Weekend in Wildwood, we'd go to the boardwalk and pull off the twin act.

"It was different." I agreed. "He held me longer and tighter." Rachel gave a snort of laughter-the kind of noise she made whenever she repressed a 'That's what she said' joke.

"And yes, I know that's what she said, but it's true." Missy's brow furrowed in concentration.

"He likes you." She finally said. I gave a small nod. After all, it did make sense. He had been acting differently around me all summer. Sean never used to randomly pick me up and carry me around. And he did seem concerned about me earlier…

And maybe what I've been feeling, maybe I like him back…

"I don't know guys. I'll see him tomorrow, maybe he'll say something."

But when tomorrow came, he didn't say anything to me. I approached the senior about an all brass music sectional, but he acted as if I was not there. Slightly annoyed, I gathered the trumpets and mellos and told them to be at sectionals at seven at the Usual Spot (capitalized in honor) and dismissed them for water. Maybe I was wrong. Again. I had been wrong about Christian, I could be wrong about Sean. My heart sunk as I followed my section back to the water coolers.

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	17. In Which Everyone Goes Insane

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91 (), Silvorfithrade, JacokNortovc, Jollibee, maria.boom.baby, itsmariscul, Hottie12345k, Kojin, Somewei, and Matt loves band for reviewing! Thanks again to Somewei and Matt loves band for the fave story add! BTW, the Kingdom Hearts reference in the last chapter was about the Usual Spot, which was the place that Roxas and the gang hung out in the beginning of KHII. I'm really going to try to get this up faster then the last one…lyrics aren't mine. _

Chapter Seventeen- In Which Everyone Goes Insane

_Speak up,  
My ears are growing weary.  
I'll sing this to the end.  
And watch the waves crash over me,  
Not too much to overcome with enough time to turn it all around.  
In a picture perfect scenery I've become a stick figure illustration.  
My eyes roll back and focus on what's ahead;  
I can still stand if you lend the hand to embrace me.  
I'll take this on my own._

_Casting Such A Thin Shadow-__**Underoath**_

* * *

Sectionals were cancelled at the last minute due to rain. I hated rain. It ruined everything. The Usual Spot was pretty well covered, but I wasn't going to risk anyone slipping and breaking a leg getting there. We needed everyone in top shape for marching.

More than half of the opener was on the field, which was rather good, considering today was only the third day of band camp. We'd be working on the rest of the drill today and adding music (hopefully) tomorrow. Everyone was working really hard, and I could tell people wanted this show to be great as much as I did. I was putting my heart and soul into this show, and I tried to get the rest of my section to think the same way. James, however, had other ideas.

* * *

"Why are you wearing a sombrero!?" I yelled at him when he walked into the mess hall. Everyone was dressed for band camp, wearing shorts, t-shirts, and the required baseball hats. "You are supposed to have a baseball hat, and that's not a baseball hat!"

"No, dear Syddy, the rules say I have to have a hat that provides shade. And with this hat, I'm providing shade for myself and the people next to me!" I was furious. He was technically right, although that didn't stop me from assigning him laps.

"What for?!" He cried, eyes wide. "I didn't break any rules!"

"You look like an idiot, you called me 'Syddy', and I'm your section leader!" I yelped, shaking with fury. "Three laps after practice!" And with that, I turned on my heel and went back to my table. There, Rachel was staring at me, and Missy was howling with laughter.

"Did you see his face when you told him he had to run? Or better yet, you should have seen your face when you saw James with that stupid hat!! It was hysterical!!" Missy choked. She thought this was way funnier then everyone else. Missy tried to take a drink of orange juice to calm herself, only to have it spurt out of her nose when James stood up and started dancing to someone's Mexican Hat Dance ring tone. Rachel started giggling also. I stood up, fairly calm for all that had happened so early in the morning, walked over to James and took his ear and dragged him to his seat. Thanks for the idea Megan. He yelped as I forcibly dragged him outside.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at him, turning on my heel to face the sombrero clad James.

"What are you talking about?" He asked innocently. I snorted in disbelief.

"You're acting like an idiot!" I cried, throwing my hands into the air. James looked at me indignantly.

"Oh yeah, what about you?" He snapped.

"What about me?!"

"You're uptight about everything-do you even know how to have fun?" He asked; his voice harsh. Anger and annoyance coursed through me. Of course I knew how to have fun! I had been running the section hard lately…but that's only because I want us to succeed. I don't want us to become the laughing stock of the marching circuit. So what if I had to be a little tough? The boys of the section in particular had to learn that I was not their mother and therefore not a doormat.

"Of course I know how to have fun. I have loads of fun. But when there's work to be done, I get it done!" I said angrily.

"Really?" James retorted, stepping closer to me and closing the gap between us. "I was under the impression that you were just an uptight, cold little-"

SMACK.

"Why do you keep hitting me?!" James cried, jumping back and rubbing his cheek where a red hand shaped mark was forming.

"Because you aggravate me!"

"Oh using big words now, Roberson?"

"Why, don't you understand them, Daly?" I was practically spitting fire at him. I was surprised that no one had come outside to see what we were up to.

"Aw, what do we have here?"

I thought too soon.

Abby Kramer, otherwise known as the most annoying creature in existence (even beating out my sister) came around the corner. And as if that wasn't enough, she was hand in hand with Christian. I tried to ignore the pair's swollen lips, but it was hard.

"Yes Abby? What do you want?" I said, rolling my eyes. I don't have time for this. I have a boy to be yelling at right now.

"Oh, I was just wondering what was going on here!" Her sentences always end in explanation points. She's so perky.

"Nothing. Mind going away now?" I asked, annoyed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see James trying to sneak away. "Not another step, Daly, I'm not done with you." I said flatly, not even turning around. James stopped. Abby's highly made-up eyes lit up and she smiled a wicked smile.

"No, I think I'll stick around. Who's stopping me?" She said, her voice sickly sweet. I glared at her.

"Alright, fine. Then I'll go." I turned on my heel, sent death glares to everyone in the circle (even Christian, who had stood at Abby's side and said nothing during the whole deal), and walked back to the mess hall. Missy looked up as I plopped back down next to her.

"How'd it go?" She asked, casually picking at her pancakes. I sighed.

"You have no idea."

* * *

At exactly ten, the entire band met on the field to start stretching. The rest of the band stared at James' choice in headwear, while I stood following Noah as he lead the band in shoulder stretches. James looked like an idiot. Megan glared at James and me. I could tell she wasn't happy. Now I was quite worried that Coolidge was going to explode-first at James for wearing the stupid thing, then me, for not stopping him. Great.

"Sydney!" Megan yelled. "Arm circles!" I walked out into the center of the circle.

"I love arm circles!" I said, starting with small forward circles.

"I love arm circles!" The band repeated.

"Arm circles I adore!" I yelled.

"Arm circles I adore!" The band yelled. I could hear the altos screaming madly over everyone else.

"Come on guys, you're getting beat by the saxes!" I yelled before continuing the poem. "And since I do not feel them!"

"And since I do not feel them!" The drumline bellowed, drowning out the rest of the band.

"I'll do a couple more!"

"I'll do a couple more!" This time I could hear Rachel and Missy over everyone else. We went through going small, medium and large, backwards and forwards arm circles until I had the band hold their arms out for fifteen seconds. I'd make it longer over the season, but for now, I'd cut them a break.

After we finished doing jumping jacks, we formed the basics block and ran through a few commands. Coolidge finally came out of the mess hall where the instructors were having a meeting to watch us march.

"Ready, halt!" Megan yelled, calling us to a stop.

"Nice work guys…bring it in, go get some water quick." We broke ranks and hurried over to the sidelines to get a drink. After we drank down some water and then ran back on to the field and circled it up around Coolidge.

"Okay. Now, we're going to have the first annual Sycamore Falls march off!" The vets screamed and shouted, while the rookies looked around, extremely confused.

"Basically a march off is a basics block where Megan and I will call out commands. However, if you do something wrong or you get out of step, we'll call you out and you're done. Out of the block. The winner gets fame, glory, and an extra fifteen minutes of lunch for their section!"

A march off? On the third day of band camp? Insanity. But then again, I don't think that he had noticed the fact that the new junior trumpet player was wearing a sombrero. I smiled, and walked over to my spot in the block with Missy, who was in the line in front of me, next to the mellos. Abby walked briskly past me, bumping into my shoulder. She threw an angry glare over my shoulder.

"You better not think you're going to win, Sydney." She hissed, eyes narrow. I raised my eyebrows. She's got to be out of her mind-who would be this competitive for a march off?

Missy turned to me.

"You better win."

I looked at Abby's retreating, tank top clad frame.

"Don't worry. I will."

* * *

_A/N-Sorry for the wait! BTW, the arm circle poem is real-we used to say that in my band while doing arm circles. Reviews rock!!_

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	18. March Off And Fall Out

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Matt loves band, Somewei, Hottie12345k, sara, Lizai, and maria.boom.baby for reviewing! Lyrics aren't mine. Sorry for the wait again, but I had a paper for Honors Global Studies and marching band and everything else that goes along with high school. Here we go with chapter eighteen!! _

Chapter Eighteen- March-Off And Fall-Out

_These are the words that tore me apart.  
And these are the words that'll take me away.  
I'm not in the business of faking to please vain opposers.  
A dead legion of new, cloned followers.  
You're cornered in a place you don't know.  
In this world, you don't._

_New medicines should ease this pain.  
They're the only ailment for it. All over again. _

_New Medicines-__**Dead Poetic**_

* * *

Angry and annoyed, I took my place in the block. I was determined now, if not to win, to beat Abby. Neither of us had ever won a march off. I had come close to winning, but got picked off because of a mess up during a right backward slide. It was a stupid mistake, but at least I didn't get out because of being out of step. Unlike certain people…certain flute playing rivals anyway.

I looked at my sections. James looked calm and cool. Although he was a rookie to Sycamore Falls' marching band, he wasn't a rookie to marching. He marched for two years at his high school before he moved back here. Poor Adriana looked dead nervous. The three mellos were joking around with each other. I took a deep breath and prepared myself.

"To the ready!" Megan yelled. Everyone went to the ready-head bowed, feet shoulder length apart. "Band ten hut!"

"HUT!" Everyone screamed, snapping to attention with horns down.

"Mark time mark!" Megan called, clapping her hands in time. "Forwards, march!"

And so it began. The commands were easy, but I could tell that Adrianna was having trouble. She had gotten out of step after a stop-and-go, and was immediately called out by the staff. She wasn't alone. People, a majority of them rookies, dropped like flies. I glanced around without moving my head to see who was still in. The entire mello section was gone. Missy and Christian were next to each other, but the third tenor, Zac, was off to the sides. I couldn't see up to the clarinets, but Rachel was a good marcher, so I guessed she was still in. Unable to see behind me, I couldn't tell who of the low brass, drumline and guard remained. Abby was still in, I could hear her loud counting from here.

* * *

Eyes focused ahead, I came to a perfect halt.

"Condense the block!" Megan yelled. I marched forward effortlessly and slid into place where the clarinet line normally was. Rachel was no longer there. Missy moved forward to my right with Christian next to her. Abby and the remaining and flutes clarinets made up the front line. Out of the trumpet section, James, Brian and I were left. Megan increased the tempo.

"Backwards march!" I went up on my toes and slid backwards keeping my bouncing to a minimum.

"James, backwards roll step is not proper marching technique for this band!" Coolidge yelled. James made his way out of the block.

_Another one bites the dust. _I thought to myself, not allowing a smile.

I was on complete auto pilot. Every command was given with a faster tempo then the last. There were no more underclassmen left. While dressing the line, I saw the entire color guard and bass line on the side lines. There had to be less then ten people remaining.

"Condense to the front line!" Megan yelled. Since we were marching in fives this year, I knew that there only had to be five people remaining. Missy was still there and Christian was gone. I could here him cheering for Abby on the sideline. Abby was on my left, Missy to my right. Noah and Sean were the other two remaining. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Abby shooting me an angry glare as if saying "_What are you still doing here!?"_

Noah was the next to be called out. He was called out for getting out of step during a ridiculously fast tempo. Missy decided to pull herself out due to exhaustion. Soon, it was only Abby, Sean and I. I was in the middle, trumpet in front of me. Abby's flute was at a perfect angle, and Sean's trombone was barely moving from its position at set.

"High mark time!" Coolidge yelled over Megan's taps. Sean pulled out before even trying. Instead, he started cheering for me. Had I not been challenged by Abby, I would have pulled out myself. High mark time was not my friend. My knee was not agreeing with me. Wincing slightly, I remembered a saying from the movie _'Road House'_- "Pain don't hurt". My dad and older brother were huge fans of cult classic movies, so I knew quotes from tons of random movies.

"Forward, march!" Megan was keeping a fast tempo; it had to be over 200. I took off with a perfect roll step. I didn't dare look at Abby. The pain in my knee had me pouring everything I had into this final part of the march-off. I'd rather have my leg fall off then lose to Abby.

The pain turned me into something fierce. My roll step increased, my back march became more precise and every turn was perfect.

* * *

"Abby you're out of step!" I heard Megan yell. "Ready, halt!" I cleanly pointed my right foot and brought myself to a stop. Sweat was pouring out of me. My intensity hadn't been stopped despite the pain and heat. Abby and I stood next to each other, not looking at one another.

"And the winner is Sydney! Way to go, both of you for making it this far. Trumpets and mellos, you guys are getting fifteen extra minutes today for lunch." Everyone cheered, particularly my sections. Although it was quite an accomplishment to make it this far, I knew Abby was furious.

"Alright, relax, and get a drink." I lowered my horn from the horns down attention and walked gingerly over to where my water jug was. Missy, Natalie and Sean all sprinted over to me.

"Dude, Syd, you were freaking scary out there. You looked like you were going to rip someone's face off." Missy said. "Didn't the high mark time hurt you?" Missy knew all about my knee injury, having been there at the competition where I fell. Missy played first bass in the indoor battery, so she didn't see me fall, but she heard me. All the noise came from one of the drum heads being torn, an extremely hard feat to do.

"Yeah, a bit." I said, smiling now. _I won. _I was so happy.

"I'm so glad you beat Abby, maybe now she'll leave you alone now." Sean said. Rachel, Missy and I all stared at him.

"Are you insane?" Rachel said, lowering her voice, as we were getting closer to the podium and the pit. "This will only make her hate Sydney more."

Sean looked confused. "Girls are weird." He finally said, before leaving us to go over to the spot that the low brass claimed as theirs the first day of band camp. Missy, Rachel and I walked over to the large black towel we shared to keep our instruments off the ground when we weren't using them out on the field. I headed over the high brass section (located conveniently close by) and was nearly glomped to death by a dozen very excited people. Through the yelling and celebrating, I grabbed my water bottle and took a well-deserved drink. As I put my water down and went back to the towel to grab my horn, I was stopped by Abby.

"I thought I told you not to win." She hissed. If looks could kill, I'd be dead.

"I thought that this was a free country." I replied coolly, making a move to walk past her. Abby moved into my way.

"Well when I'm drum major next year, it won't be for you." She spat angrily at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"And why would anyone in their right mind make you drum major?" I asked her. Everyone knew of Abby's ambition to be drum major. She had made it clear to our class that she was to be drum major and no one else was allowed to even challenge her at auditions in the spring. However, Abby didn't know that I didn't care what she said and that I was going to audition. No one knew.

"Because, I'm the only one who's going to do it!" She cried.

"Yeah, you keep thinking that." I said, rolling my eyes. Abby looked as if she was going to rip my face off. And she would have too if Sean hadn't come over at that very second.

"Everything alright here ladies?" Sean asked us both, politely. Abby melted her frosty glare and immediately began batting her eyelashes at him. A bubbling anger rose in me. First she goes and kidnaps and brainwashes Christian, now she's flirting with Sean?! It made me sick.

Using this diversion, I went to my towel and grabbed my trumpet. The happiness from winning the march off was quickly fading. Abby knew exactly how to ruin my mood. During practice, I snapped at my section multiple times for various reasons. I think I almost made Adriana cry. My mood worsened.

* * *

Coolidge dismissed the trumpets and mellos for lunch at our promised fifteen minutes early. Not in much mood to eat, I walked sullenly back to my cabin. I curled up in a ball on my bunk and plugged myself into my iPod. I put on something loud and lyrically-something to describe my mood. Dead Poetic would do fine.

I listened as my pain was described in song and didn't hear the creak of the door being opened. I only looked up when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey," Sean said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hi." I muttered.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked, looking me in the eye. His face was filled with concern.

"No, not really." I responded flatly, rolling over onto my stomach, pressing my face into the pillow.

"Okay," He said. The cabin fell silent. I soon became aware of the slow tears down my face and the fact that Sean was gently rubbing my shoulders in a kind way.

And I soon became aware that I wanted to stay like this forever.

* * *

_AN-Personally I like this chapter…but I want to know what you think! Also, I've got a new one-shot up, called "Friday Nights". It's got nothing to do with DYMM, but if you want to read one of my older works, that'd be cool. Anyway, reviews equal love!!_

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	19. The Best Of Me

_A/N-Thanks to Silvorfithrade, JacokNortovc, Sara, Hottie12345k, projectfreq91, maria.boom.baby, dutchesscourtney, Kojin and Mrs. CaptianxSparrow for reviewing! Thanks also for MelodicHarmony and Mrs. CaptianxSparrow for adding this to their faves! If you like Kingdom Hearts then check out my new short story "No Other Choice", an unrequited Kariku story. Lyrics aren't mine. _

* * *

Chapter Nineteen- The Best Of Me

_Are you gone and onto someone new?  
I needed somewhere to hang my head,  
Without your noose.  
You gave me something that I didn't have.  
But had no use.  
I was too weak to give in,  
Too strong to lose.  
My heart is under arrest again,  
But I break loose.  
My head is giving me life or death,  
But I can't choose.  
I swear I'll never give in,  
I refuse._

_Best of You-__**Foo Fighters**_

* * *

I'd just won a march off. I'd just beaten my arch rival. So why was I so down? Honestly, I don't know myself. It's stupid, really. The sadness was ebbing away, and anger was taking its place. I was letting others control my life. My constant obsession with beating Abby was getting to me. Christian wasn't mine and never would be mine (and frankly, why would I like anyone who would choose someone annoying? Or evil? Or dumb?) Better just to forget about him before things spiraled further out of my control.

And the other boys in my life…Sean…I honestly don't know what I'm feeling. He's so sweet and kind. Not really deserving of me. After all, I make freshmen cry. He deserves so much better then me.

And James…lately he's been quiet. Brooding would be a better word almost. Every time he saw me he got a different sort of look in his eyes. Something like a gleam of hope or a look of longing. Lately we've been civil to each other-a brief 'hello' or 'how are you' when we saw each other. He seemed to have the same dislike for Abby that I have (It's not a hard dislike to obtain. Just spend five minutes with her.). That redeemed him slightly.

I sat up suddenly. Sean, who had been rubbing my shoulders jumped back in surprise, smacking his head on Rachel's bunk in the process.

"Ow!" He yelled, rubbing the top of his head.

"Sorry!" I cried, jumping back myself. Watching him rub his head reminded me of something. I began to giggle.

Sean stopped his rubbing and stared at me. "It's not funny, Syd, that really hurt!"

Looking at Sean's expression of pain and shock while his hands were still in place on his head only made me laugh harder.

"Dude are you okay? Are you losing it?" He asked, moving closer to where I was doubled over laughing.

"No-it's just that-that time that you walked-me here after patrol-and I-and I- slammed my face on the door!" I said, tears of laughter pouring down my face. Sean looked worried.

"It's okay Sydney. I'm going to take you to the nurse and she'll give you a nice white jacket that you can hug yourself with!" He sounded as if he was talking to a three year old. A very insane three year old.

Once I realized Sean was serious, I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Insanity attacks unusually stuck Missy or Rachel (the latter more frequently), not me. Upon regaining my composure and a happier mood, Sean and I decided to go to lunch. My hunger had returned full force.

* * *

At lunch, I sought out Adriana and apologized to her for my behavior earlier. She seemed relived after I explained why my attitude was so horrible.

"I thought you were mad because of something I did." She admitted, blushing and not meeting my eyes in embarrassment.

"Why would you ever think that?" I asked the freshman, slightly surprised.

"I know I'm not as good as the boys, I'm a puny freshman, and I can't march at all." She said, dejectedly. Just hearing her talk about this made me really want to give her a hug.

"Listen to me Adri, don't you ever think you're less of a trumpet player then the rest of the boys. If they ever say anything like that to you, I'll personally beat them up." I told her. She laughed.

"I'm serious-if anyone gives you crap, they answer to me. Trumpet girls have to stick together, right?" I asked her. Adriana nodded vigorously.

"And as for being a freshman, well, I really can't do anything about that, but you aren't a freshman forever. You guys are pretty lucky; our upperclassmen are pretty decent in this band. I've heard stories from people in other bands…you wouldn't want to know. And just because you're not marching well doesn't mean you'll march like that forever. You're learning. You're new to marching band; we don't expect you to be perfect. Not now, anyway." I winked. "The parade you march with the middle school for homecoming doesn't count at all. That's not true marching. It's only band camp; you have tons of time to master marching. And if you have any questions about marching, you can ask me or Brian or any other vet. They'd be happy to help you, honest.

Adriana smiled. "Trumpet girls stick together." She said. We hugged and returned to our tables.

Rachel, Missy and the guys were all quite happy to see me out of my funk.

"Roberson." Brian said, nodding at me in greeting.

"Lantz." I replied, nodding at my fellow junior trumpet player. "Hey guys." I said, setting my tray down. I had gotten loaded with food from the band moms. Many of them sent me looks saying, 'There's no way a tiny thing like you could eat all that!' A few of mothers actually said that to my face. I really didn't care what they thought. Missy's mom, who was on kitchen duty today, just laughed and gave me an extra one of her peanut butter cup brownies (I was still surprised that there were still some left-they went like wildfire at mass band feedings).

I immediately went for the brownies and dug in. Several other girls stared. The guys, Rachel and Missy were all used to my weird eating habits. It was another reason why my sister hated me. I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound, quite unlike Avery. I however, was in marching band and indoor drumline, which meant a lot of exercise for me. My sister only did cheerleading at the middle school. This year she was a captain, a position only reserved for the best eighth grade girls on the squad, and those girls with the best shot of making varsity their freshman year. However, they didn't run much or do a lot of push ups or abs exercises, so I was in much better shape then Avery, even with a bum leg.

I was happy finally. My friends cracked joke after joke. Abby and her cronies threw multiple dirty looks my way. I really didn't care now. I was above her. This was my time.

* * *

_A/N-Reviews are love! If you like KH, check out "No Other Choice"!_


	20. Q and A

_A/N-Thanks to JacokNortovc, Hottie12345k, maria.boom.baby., projectfreq91, Silvorfithrade, sara, Kojin, and 29 Soft Kisses for reviewing! Thanks also to CookieLover92 and 29 Soft Kisses for adding DYMM to their faves! Also, if you like Kingdom Hearts check out my new short story-'No Other Choice'. Tis quite angsty. _

_Wow, it's been such a long time since I've updated. I'm so sorry! Band has taken over my life…and now it's over for the season. Sadness. However…drumline starts THIS WEEK YAY!_

_The lyrics, Harry Potter, and Monty Python aren't mine. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty- Q and A

_Unkept and over caffeinated  
I walked the forty steps to the moon  
You met me _

_You say you don't believe in science  
You're always ashamed of what you're willing to lose  
I will follow you anywhere  
But where were you that night?  
When I was..._

_When I was calling for the answer  
That you probably shouldn't know  
Well, it feels like flames surrounding me here  
When you were calling with your question  
When all I needed was to know  
Well, it feels like flames surrounding me here_

_Forty Steps-__**The Academy Is…**_

* * *

The weekend came quickly. Abby was still fuming, and Adri was getting better by the day. The opener was now on the field in its interety. It wasn't very pretty, and needed polishing. Polishing would begin next week and band camp would end Friday morning so we could get back to the school with plenty of time before the first football game of the season. Coolidge wanted us to march at least the first two numbers for the game. It'll probably be close, but it should happen.

By the time Friday night had come, nearly all the underclassmen and a few upperclassmen were gone. The camp was quite deserted. We were under little supervision, since most of the staff had family that they wanted to see, so the only adults there were really the band moms. Most of them were pretty cool, but a few could get really annoying.

Another awesome thing about the weekend was the fact that Abby wasn't going to be there. She dramatically stated to the entire cabin that she wanted "Me-Time". As if she didn't get enough-she always talked about her self. Christian was also going home; no doubt he could stand being away from his girlfriend for more then five minutes. He had changed. He was rarely without her, and when he was, he pined for her. I found it quite pathetic, and Missy agreed. Only Rachel found it not revolting.

"I mean, yeah, she's my cousin, she's evil, but you have to admit that it's kinda cute that he's so into her!" Rachel said Friday night when we were leaning against one of the many trees surrounding the camp. Kyle stared at his girlfriend.

"Is this a hint that I should act like a leech? Cause I can totally be a leech." He grabbed Rachel's foot. "Oh I love thee; I shalt never let thee go!" He cried in a voice that sounded like he was one of the Knights Who Say Ni. Rachel squealed and hugged Kyle. Sean, Hayden and Brian all looked at the pair, terrified. Missy and I laughed as we watched the boys while Kyle sang "Natty I love you, Natty I do! When we're apart, my heart beats only for you!" in an over-exaggerated British accent. He then swept her up into a newlywed lift and spun her around.

"That enough leech for you?" He asked, still holding her in the lift. Rachel sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. The boys awed sarcastically.

"Sound the weeding bells!" Hayden called in his highest and most feminine voice. Sean made a noise that sounded like a whip cracking.

"Can we play at the wedding?" I asked, linking arms with Missy and Sean and giving the couple a goofy anime like grin.

"Yeah jazz band." Brian said. Rachel threw him a dirty look. Out of the seven of us, Rachel was the only one who didn't make jazz band. She tried out, but Coolidge decided that he didn't want any jazz clarinets. Rachel was not happy, to say the least. After all, her boyfriend was second trombone; Missy and I were both leads on our instrument. Not to mention Sean, Brain and Hayden were all members. So basically our whole little group was in the jazz band and Rachel was left out. It caused sever tension last year and almost ended Kyle and Rachel's relationship at multiple different times.

Everyone grew quiet. Things got awkward fast. I pulled out my cell phone and jumped up when I noticed the time. "Um, I have to go make sure everything's okay around here." I said. I could tell from the look on Rachel's face that she didn't believe me, but I really did have to go patrol. Sean jumped up and muttered something about coming with me. We both hurried away from the scene, a bit worried for the future of our friends.

* * *

Weekend patrol was easier then weekday patrol by far. Most of the people that had stayed were at the pool or off staying cool in the rec room. Sean and I spent a large amount of the time just talking as we checked around. I was really comfortable around him. He was caring, funny and smart. We were discussing our favorite jazz band pieces.

"I freaking loved 'Get In Line' last year. It's such a good song." I said. "The trumpet part was so cool."

"Yeah, it was good, but I still like 'Nightshift'." Sean said, the sunlight reflecting off of his red mop. I stared at him.

"You're kidding." I said.

"What? It had a good trombone soli!" He said.

"We played that in eight grade-surely there have been better ballads! And besides, it was an alto feature. The trombone soli wasn't even ten measures." I said, incredulous. It was a decent song, but not one that I would have thought had been one of his favorites.

"It may be a ballad, but I thought it had some emotion." He said, seriously.

"I just can't imagine you liking ballads."

"I liked 'Moondance' too."

"We played that in sixth grade!"

"Hey, it's a really romantic song. It's a great song." Sean said, looking into my eyes. We had stopped walking. We were all alone. Everyone was at the pool, and the sun was setting over the trees. I became quite aware of how loud my heart was beating and would not be surprised if he could hear it. He took a step closer to me.

"Sydney, would you…I mean-is it okay, if you wanted to that is…" Was Sean really that nervous? Could he tell that I was just as nervous as I was?

"Yes." I said, and the gap between us closed.

* * *

_A/N-Yes, they finally kissed! -Throws confetti- Yeah, so I know that I'm a terrible person who hasn't updated in nearly a month, but if you review I'll have the next chapter up next week!! I have off all next week anyway for Thanksgiving, and I want to do a lot of writing! Reviews rock my socks!!_


	21. Stolen Thunder

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A/N-Thanks to sara, 29 Soft Kisses, Silvorfithrade, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, CookieLover92, dutchesscourtney, featherbrained-flute, and JacokNortovc.

_Wheeeeeeeeeeee I love Thanksgiving break. And Facebook. Which is really addicting!_

_Lyrics aren't mine. See Jake more Arctic Monkey lyrics!_

_Oh yes and those of you with Facebooks who would like to join a group dedicated to "Did You Miss Me?" I made one. The group is called, shockingly, "Did You Miss Me?" I was bored, and thought it would be fun. _

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Chapter Twenty One-Stolen Thunder

_Calm, collected, and commandin'  
You made the other stories standin'  
With your renditions and jokes  
Bet there's hundreds of blokes that have wept cause you've stolen their ...thunder  
Are you puttin' us under?  
Cause we can't take our eyes off the t-shirt and ties combination  
Well see you later, innovator_

_Brianstorm-__**Arctic Monkeys **_

* * *

There was almost a giddy smile on my face as Sean and I walked hand in hand down to the pool. Our friends didn't know about us yet; by the time we had gotten back to our original spot, they were gone. Sean and I decided to head down to the pool-the most likely location for them on a hot summer evening. The pool was a legend to the band-it was the most tricked out pool most of us had ever seen, with its slides and diving boards. Many vets took pleasure in telling ghost stories to the freshman who then became too terrified to even walk past the place. The pool was also one of the few non-band things to do around here. We weren't like most school that had a dance to mark the end of band camp, much to the relief of the dancing challenged in the band (myself included). The last night of band camp was always on a Thursday, since the next day was the first football game of the season.

School started the day after Labor Day for us, this year on a Wednesday. I was excited for this year. I was taking four APs-U.S. History, Chem., Composition, and Music Theory III (whatever possessed me to do that and not take a study hall was beyond me…). I also had Advanced Geometry, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band, with my two band courses switching off with each other every other day. At Sycamore Valley, we had a thing called block scheduling-I had four eighty minute classes a day for half the year, take the finals in January and then start with four new classes after finals. AP US and Music Theory were every other day all year, like Jazz and Wind, and were all year classes. Chem. and Geometry took up the other two blocks in the fall semester and Comp. and my gym and health courses I had in the spring. My schedule was crazy in and out of school.

Sean and I had gotten to be such good friends because of our crazy schedules. We knew each other through marching band, but last year we found ourselves in a lot of the same classes. We had a lot in common. We both liked a lot of the same music, we liked swimming (him more then me, of course), and we both had insane sisters. We quickly bonded. I was happy to find out that he was in two of my classes outside of band- AP US and gym.

I'm hoping that we would stay together long enough to break my pitiful boyfriend record of three and a half weeks. Rachel and Kyle had been going out for what seemed like forever, and Missy was happily single. I was so excited for my friends to see me with Sean that I subconsciously started to speed up.

"Whoa, Syd, slow down! I don't want you to hurt your knee." Sean said, pulling on my hand to slow me down. I silently cursed my knee. Six months later, it still wasn't right.

"I'll be fine." I replied. "I don't care if I'm a cripple, I'm not weak you know."

Sean shook his head. "You are such a feminist."

"And quite proud."

* * *

By the time we got to the pool, the sun had set completely. The lights on the pool deck were on, and we could hear the rowdy yells of the boys and the loud laughter of the girls. I pushed open the gate and we walked inside. No one could see us yet; they were all amused by a brightly colored beach ball. I dropped Sean's hand and walked over to where Rachel and Missy's stuff was spread over three chairs. I picked up Hayden's backpack and tossed it to the side so my bag would have a place to sit and not get wet. I peeled off my t-shirt and drumline mesh shorts to reveal my red one piece swim suit and then jumped into the cool water next to Rachel.

"Holy crap Sydney!" Rachel yelled when I surfaced. "I'm gonna kill you!" Apparently I came close to landing on her.

"Don't kill her yet Rachel." Sean said, spooking me. He was so good at diving and swimming that he was able to dive into the water with barely a splash.

"What do you mean 'yet'?" I asked, slyly, raising an eyebrow. Sean's eyes went wide.

"No! No way!" He yelped. Missy looked at us suspiciously.

"Are you two…?" She started before Rachel tackled us in a hug.

"Aw this is so cute!!" Rachel yelled, attracting everyone's attention. I looked down into the water and saw that Sean was holding my hand-a dead giveaway to hawk-eyed Rachel.

"I hate you." I told Sean.

"That's probably not a good thing, is it Syd?" He asked before kissing me quickly on the forehead. The boys started singing the wedding march while all the girls sighed. I rolled my eyes and smiled. I didn't notice that there was a pair of sad eyes on me from the other side of the pool.

* * *

The group of us spent the rest of the weekend relaxing. We played some soccer and football and hung out at the pool with the other kids that stayed. Hayden dominated us at sports, since before joining band he was a bit of a jock. If it wasn't for drumline he would probably be in winter track or spring soccer. A lot of band members who didn't do indoor were in winter sports-especially track. Out of all the sports teams at the high school, the track team was the nicest to the band. Many of them were either band members and knew someone in band.

Pretty soon, it was Sunday evening and everyone who had left for the weekend was coming back. Abby arrived in true Abby fashion-her nose was in the air, looking down on everyone that wasn't her. She daintily pushed the door to the cabin open and sighed.

"Only one more week of this, finally!" She said a chipper edge to her voice. I glared at her. "If you hate band so much, why are you here?" I asked. It annoyed me so much when people in band hated it so much. We weren't like other schools in our area that forced any kid in the music program to be in the marching band.

"My mom thinks I should humble myself and make you all feel better about yourselves by being here." Abby said, sitting on her bunk and started unpacking her Abercrombie bag.

It's probably a miracle that I haven't punched her yet...

"Yet you want to be drum major…" Rachel said, shooting her cousin a death glare.

"That's because mother wants me too. I'd rather not be in band." She said, removing layers of pink things from her bag.

She makes me want to scream.

I went out patrolling quickly right after dark. Sunday night wasn't that big of a night for patrol. Kids were getting back and unpacking and not making too much trouble. I made my way through the boy's side of the camp when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped and whipped around, my hands in a karate chop style.

"Hey don't kill me it's me!" James cried, coming out of the shadows. I relaxed-but didn't drop my hands.

"What was that for?!" I asked. "You scared the crap of me!"

"I just wanted to talk to you." He said, a serious tone to his voice.

"Um…okay." I said, nervously.

"Are you really going out with Sean?" He asked. I was taken aback. I didn't expect him to start talking about that.

"Um…yeah. Why is this any of your concern?" I asked.

"It's not…never mind…goodnight, Sydney." James turned away and walked back to his cabin.

"Alright…goodnight…" I said to no one in particular.

* * *

_A/N-Yay new chappie! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving if you're American, and if you're shopping today, um…have fun? Haha reviews rock!_


	22. Friday Night Lights

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A/N-…Um…yeah…hi. I'm not dead…just busy. I do have a lot written-it's just all on loose leaf. I have good news though…I made drumline! Bass 3 woooo! And I have a week and a half to write cause of the Christmas break! Yay!

_On with the thank you's…reviewers Sara, Silvorfithrade, projectfreq91, maria.boom.baby., Gen, CookieLover92, JacokNortovc, featherbrained-flute, dutchesscourtney, Hottie12345k, LoveHate237, Somewei, vampirelurver979 and music x. On with the chappie (which, as for my horrible inability to update, is super long!!) I don't own the lyrics. _

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Chapter Twenty Two-Friday Nights Lights

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Oh your sister can't twist but she can rock and roll  
Out bucks the broncos in the rodeo-do  
She's only sixteen but it's plain to see  
She can pull the wool over little old me  
Your sister can't twist but she can rock and roll  
Your sister can't twist but she got more soul than me_

_Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)-__**Elton John**_

* * *

Three days later and Sean and I were still together, much to my happiness. It was odd getting talked to by girls I barely knew-most of them freshman guard girls who were upset at the fact that Sean was taken. They had taken to throwing me dirty looks whenever I passed them.

Abby had yet to realize that Sean and I were a couple. She wasn't the brightest person I knew. Not many people realized the change-Sean had moved the low brass towel (where we placed our instruments when we weren't using them so they wouldn't get messed up by the ground or anything else) over near the high brass towel and we started patrols around so we could walk around and talk longer.

Now tonight, Thursday, was the last night of band camp. We'd be leaving tomorrow morning so we could get back to the school with enough time before the first football game so we could get a couple hours rest and time to relax. While I loved band camp, I was looking forward to seeing my Grandpop and the rest of the family again. Well, thinking of Avery, maybe not everyone.

* * *

The last night of band camp was always the bonfire. The bonfire was a lot of fun-they took us into the woods and lit a huge pile of wood on fire. The band parents who worked the kitchens often slipped their kids food to cook over the fire. We would hang out and the drumline would come out and reveal the year's cadence. Pardon the pun, but people really bonded at the bonfire-it had become a Sycamore Valley band tradition.

I left the practice field slightly saddened that I only had one more band camp left. We always ended practice with the drum major yelling "Band dismissed!" We would respond with a "We are Spartans!" The school mascot was a Spartan, and the chant was started years ago by the band and caught on throughout the school when the movie "300" was released. It quickly became a band favorite, even though technically we weren't allowed to watch it at school. I had the movie on my iPod, which got "borrowed" a lot by the drumline (band legend said that they started the chant).

I walked back to the cabin with Missy and Rachel, who were happily talking about band and other things. Rachel was talking about the upcoming school musical. She had always been the most dramatic of the group-increasingly since not making jazz band at auditions last spring. Outside of band, she did a lot of theater stuff. We killed time until the bonfire talking and laughing about random stuff. Missy and I thoroughly annoyed Abby by singing the battery parts of last year's indoor show, 'Fire and Ice'. Rachel belted out songs from last year's musical. Abby left in a huff eventually, muttering darkly about maturity. The three of us laughed and started to get ready for the bonfire. I pulled on a blank tank top and a pair of jeans and let my slightly damp hair down. I dug around in my bag for my black drumline hoodie in case it cooled down later.

* * *

I heard a slight knock at the door, and since Missy and Rachel had both gone to get showers (I had gone before them), I went to get it.

"Oh-hey James." I said, surprised. I was expecting Sean and the guys. They were going to walk up with us so we could all get good seats near the fire so we could watch Coolidge attempt to light the bonfire. It often resulted in colorful new vocabulary, several burnt fingers, and the matches not lighting.

"Hey Syd." He said, a slight blush creeping into his face. I raised an eyebrow. James Daly never blushed.

"What is it?" I asked, suspiciously.

"I need a reason to visit you?"

"Since when do you blush?" I asked. His face went even redder. "Spill it." I said, before noticing-"Hey, why are you hands behind your back?"

"Uh no reason!" He said quickly. Too quickly.

"C'mon, show me!" I said. "What is it?"

"Nothing!" I grabbed his arm but his hand was around his other wrist too tight. I hadn't thought that far ahead, and soon found that James had pinned me single handedly against the wall of the cabin. I blew a piece of hair out of my face.

"Well you have me." I said, thinking fast. I couldn't really kick him in the balls-he'd see that and jump. I might be able to free my wrist and poke him. I knew for a fact that James was ticklish.

"Yep." He said. _He's holding both your wrists in one hand do it! DO IT! _In one swift movement, I slid my right hand out of his hold and poked him in the stomach. James left back, startled.

"You thought that I forgot you were extremely ticklish?" I asked. He didn't say anything. Instead, he stuck out his tongue. "Oh real mature!" He smiled. Then I realized that I hadn't even found out what was behind his back. _"What are you hiding?!"_ Still smiling, he revealed a small bouquet of wild sunflowers from the woods.

"I saw them earlier when I was helping Coolidge drag wood out for the bonfire. I remembered how much you loved sunflowers and I picked you a couple!" James said with the enthusiasm of a kindergartener with hand made macaroni art.

It's true that I loved sunflowers, and it's true that there were wild sunflowers in the clearings in the woods.

"Aw, thanks James, that's so nice!" I said, giving him a friendly hug. I took the flowers from him and went inside to put them in a cool half full bottle of water. Pausing, I took one of the flowers and a bobby pin and tucked it into my hair. I ran back outside. James was still out there, and when he saw me, he smiled.

"Sydney, there's something I want to tell you." I was caught off guard.

"Huh?"

"You're too good for him." James said.

"Who, Sean?" I asked, temper slowly starting to rise. He wasn't just being nice for the sake of being nice, now was he?!

"Yeah!" He said, nodding. "He's not right for you. You're perfect." He said, his voice softening. I laughed. I knew his little plan-butter me up and then try to win my affection.

"Listen, James. I'm far from perfect. I do stupid stuff with my friends all the time. You wouldn't believe all the stupid crap I've done since you've been gone. Seriously." I said. "And Sean is a really nice guy, and no matter what you tell me, I like him.

"I'm not going to stop trying to get you to like me."

"Uh, James?"

"Yeah?"

"I think that's kinda a stalkerish."

"Um yeah it sounded better in my head." We both laughed. I thanked him again for the flowers and walked back inside, only to be confronted by Missy and Rachel, who, I realized, probably saw most of it. I glanced at the window nearest to where James and I had been and saw smudge marks all over the glass-they hadn't been there when I went back inside to put my flowers away!

"How much…?" I asked.

"Enough to know that he's not giving up on you anytime soon." Rachel supplied. I sighed.

"It used to be that the boys didn't notice me. Now they can't get enough of me!" I cried, exasperated.

When Sean and Kyle finally arrived, Kyle swept Rachel up in a hug while Missy, Sean, and I stood there awkwardly.

"Uhh…you look nice?" Sean says, his voice rising.

"Questioning that Sean?" I asked, noticing the inflection in his voice.

"Course not Syd…And I like the flower too!" He said cheerfully, putting an arm around my shoulders. I got the sneaking suspicion that James was looking right at us, but when I tried to catch his gaze he was gone, moved ahead of us with his head bowed. I felt rather bad about it, since I knew that if was my fault that he was sad.

* * *

At the bonfire, we grabbed the "good seat", a giant flat rock near the fire. We brought several goodies with us-Rachel's mom had kitchen duty last night so she brought us a large amount of graham crackers, Hershey's bars and marshmallows. She also got us these things that looked like metal spear that were going to be used for toasting the marshmallows. I don't know how, but some of the sophomore boys managed to get their hands on a pile of hot dogs and rolls that they planned on cooking. Sean, Kyle and the rest of the guys saw them and immediately offered them some of our rock. Coolidge, who was still trying to light the fire, saw the packages and laughed.

"You can have them as long as you give me one." He said, before turning to us. "And that goes for the s'mores too."

The bonfire was, as usual, a great time. Coolidge and the staff gave out the end-of-band-camp awards. I was proud that no one in my section got the "bad" awards, such as "Most Likely to Get Yelled at The Most This Season."

Rachel, Missy and I walked back into the cabin after bidding the boys goodbye. While Rachel and Kyle shared a goodnight kiss, Sean hugged me and told me he'd probably talk to me tomorrow. Back inside, I finished packing-and by finish packing, I mean throwing everything into my bag and then having to sit on it in order to make it close. I checked my trumpet case-making sure I had everything I came with; all my music for lessons, marching band and jazz band. Coolidge handed out the jazz band music in August so we could get a head start. Those in marching band got it at band camp, and those who weren't in marching band got it in the mail. Our music this year was insanely amazing.

After a long night spent talking with our cabin mates (Abby thoroughly ignored most of us, turning her iPod on full blast in order to drown us out), and we all feel asleep way past midnight.

* * *

We all woke up early Friday morning to drag all our stuff to the buses and band truck. The ride home from band camp was quiet. Most people slept on the forty five minute ride home. Arriving back at the high school, I put my trumpet into my band locker and locked it away with my flip folder full of stand tunes. I was getting a ride home from James, since both of my parents were at work and I left my car at home.

"I can't believe you left your car here all week!" I said to James as we walked to his car. He laughed. "I don't know of anyone who would want to steal this piece of junk!" We chucked our stuff into the trunk and climbed into his car. I said shotgun, with my sunflowers in hand. James started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Our cul-de-sac isn't far from the school at all-it's about a ten minute walk. The short drive was actually more fun then I thought it would be, resulting in a war between what radio station should be on. We both loved rock; however we each liked the two rival stations. We pulled into my driveway to see Avery laying out in the sun in the front yard. My face flushed-Avery was in a bikini (if there was enough material to call it that). I got out of the car and James followed to help me with my stuff.

"Avery!" I yelled across the lawn. "Stop exposing yourself!" She turned to look at me (I had to keep myself from laughing at the sneer on her face-complete with giant white sunglasses) and flipped me off. James stared at her. "You are such a boy." I said, rolling my eyes. "She's thirteen and my _sister._"

He shuddered. "Ew. I wasn't looking at that. I was surprised at how different you two really are."

"Yep, and my mom keeps thinking that we're two peas in a pod." I said, pulling open the front door. "It's quite annoying really."

"There's my girl!"

"Grandpop!" I yelled, dropping my duffle bag on the table and running to giving him a big hug. "Band camp was good? You're not sunburned so at least you weren't complaining about that." He said, smiling. I pulled away and lead him back into the kitchen.

"Grandpop, you remember James?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"Course I do! I met the fellow just a few weeks ago!" At that, James went slightly pink. I bit back a giggle.

"Sir." He said professionally, extending his hand.

"Young whippersnapper." Said my grandfather, grasping James's hand. James seemed to relax a bit. I decided to spare him more embarrassment and pretended I had no idea what Grandpop was talking about. James helped me unload the remainder of my stuff from his car. He was acting really weird-he was being…_chivalrous_. Opening doors for me and everything. It was really weird.

"You can stop that now." I said, annoyed after he asked me if I wanted anything to drink for the tenth time. James was staying at my house for the few hours we had before the game. He had gone home, dumped his stuff, took a shower and came back. Both of his parents were at work, like mine.

"Why?"

"It's the twenty first century; women can take care of themselves. If I want something to drink, I'll get it myself." I said, crossing my arms. We were in my basement, playing Guitar Hero. I had been destroying him.

"I've noticed you think that, judging by some of your posters." I had taken over the decoration of the basement for myself, covering the wall in posters of my favorite bands, various drums and other instruments, and also some of my favorite famous women of history.

"Yeah, and it's about time people stop treating me like some delicate little flower."

"Okay then."

"Another boy who-wait, what?"

"I said okay. It would suck if people always thought that I was delicate." James said. "And you're defiantly not delicate. You're like the toughest girl I know." He self consciously touched his lip.

"Hm. You're one of the first guys to admit I'm not a delicate little pansy." I said.

"Not even Sean?" He asked.

"No." I said, honestly. "He hasn't."

* * *

After meeting the rest of the guys for dinner at the nearby McDonalds, we all piled into our cars and headed for the school. We were there early enough to get changed in empty bathrooms and break into the band room using one of Hayden's old drumsticks and a pack of gum. It's not the first time that we've had to do that. Hayden pulled out his snare and carrier hooked them together while everyone else got their instruments together. The trickle of band members soon turned into a steady stream of people entering the band room. My section was fully accounted for by the time that the big plume box came out of the office. I grabbed enough feathery white plumes for the trumpets and began throwing them to the members of my section. We chatted a bit before Megan took the podium and waited for us to quiet down. The staff all emerged from the office-Coolidge, Burk, Perry the drumline instructor, Steve the pit instructor, Ang and Jeff the visual techs and Larry and Eric the color guard instructors.

"Alright guys. First football game of the season!" Coolidge said, taking the podium from Megan. A few people cheered. "Just do what you did yesterday at the last run though and you'll do great. We're going to go outside to stretch and then warm up. If you're already wearing your tunics I'd advice you take them off cause it's pretty warm out there. Take flip folders and water bottles to the stands first. Alright, go!" The scraping of chairs on the tile floor broke the quiet air and everyone grabbed their stuff and went out into the warm up arc (starting with the piccs and flutes on one end and ending with the lead trumpet-me) and Megan lead us through stretches and warmed us up. We then ran though the show music that we were going to play during the pre-game show.

"Get in the block!" Megan yelled. We silently got on our tunics and shakos and assumed our places in the block. The sea of people parted for us as Hayden, the center snare, started a tap. We marched in silence out to the edge of the end-zone in between the legs of the goal post.

"Ready, halt!" Megan called. We froze, waiting for the write up to begin.

"The Sycamore Valley High School Marching Band proudly presents its field show, entitled "Para El Amor de la Música".-

"Mark, time mark!" Megan yelled over Coolidge's voice. "Forward, march!" We marched forward along the edge of the field. When Noah would step on the field, he would start the cadence.

"Fire it up drumline." I heard him say before taking over the tap and busting the drumline out into the cadence.

By now, I was fully in my element. Everyone that I could see, including Adriana, was in step, looking pristine in the green and black uniforms of Sycamore Valley. The visiting band snapped to attention. The cadence ended as Megan brought us to a halt on the middle of the 50.

"Alright guys, do it up!" Megan said dismissing us to our opening sets. I went around and found all the trumpets and mellos and offered my fist up for a pound. After everyone was at the opening set, we went to the ready to wait for Megan to call us to attention. I stood dead center on the fifty yard hash in the exact middle of the trumpet line, ready to take a few steps forward to start the show. The show started with a lone trumpet playing, and then joined part by part until the whole brass section was playing in unison. It was an extremely cool effect. I knew my part by heart, and I knew that the high brass knew theirs. I made them play it repeatedly at band camp.

"Drum Major, is your band ready?" Coolidge asked from the press box. Megan raised her hands and clapped her hands four times.

"BAND TEN HUT!" She yelled.

"HUT!" We all responded, snapping to attention. Megan turned to the press box and saluted. "Good luck guys." I whispered, barely moving my lips.

"Sycamore Valley High School Marching Band, you may take the field in performance." Megan raised her arms again.

"One, two!" She began conducting to me, and only me. The beginning of the show was slow; I stepped forwards out of the line and did a four count horns up. I took a deep breath and began.

The notes flooded away from my trumpet and filled the stadium. I had practiced playing loudly and controlled, and allowed the music to fill the stadium. My solo was filled with technical fun and high notes. My highest note came in the last song, which we had yet to get on the field. Soon, the rest of the brass had joined in, and we ended the slow section in a rest and the rest of the band kicked in, with the tempo pushing 150.

* * *

The end of the show came quick. Soon enough we were standing at the last set we learned, a majority of the band was panting from the heat and sheer speed of the show. The applause came mostly from the other band and the band parents, which was normal for a football game. Megan turned around to the press box and saluted again. She turned back to us and called us off the field and into the stands. I lead the trumpets and mellos to the row we were going to be sitting; two rows in front of the low brass. I was in the middle of the line so I could be in control. We got settled and ready to play the fight song, Alma Mater and the Star Spangled Banner. The football team ripped through the cheerleaders' banner and the game began. We played a bunch of stand tunes and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Half way through the second quarter, Coolidge called me up to the front where the drumline and Megan stood.

"Think you can do Mortal Kombat?" He asked me. My eyes lit up and I nodded, excitedly. Mortal Kombat for us was above the staff and done by a solo trumpet and the battery. "Okay then, go back up to your section and Megan will tell you when to play." I ran back up to the trumpets in happiness. I wouldn't tell them what Coolidge had told me, rather saying that they would find out soon enough. I warmed myself up for playing the song, which was rather high in order to intimidate the other band and football team.

"SYDNEY!" Megan yelled. I popped up from where I was sitting. Everyone else jumped up for the stand tune, even though they had no clue it was Mortal Kombat. I moved up a row so I would be as tall as a majority of the people in my section. "One, two!" Megan started to conduct. The drumline lead me off with the first call from Mortal Kombat. I took a deep breath and started. The trumpets stared, dumbfounded at me before bursting with yells and screams. Mortal Kombat was easily one of our most popular and asked for songs. We didn't do it much last year, since Coolidge didn't think our lead could handle it. It was such an honor to get to play it. I could tell my face was going red and I was screaming through the horn but it came out sounding _so awesome!_ (I was overjoyed and freaking out myself along with my section). When I finished, I took a drink of water and sat back down, where the brass was still freaking out. Sean clapped me on the back, and the trumpets were going absolutely nuts.

After the opposing team's band went on, we went to go get some food from the band shack. We had third quarter off, and the football team was winning. The band parents had free food for the bands (only happened at Sycamore Valley home games). I was talking to the guys, Missy, Rachel and Adriana for a bit when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a guy, wearing the red uniforms of East Rock, the school we were playing.

"Hey, do you know where I can find the lead trumpet player? He was so freaking good!" He asked. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. I knew that I was going to get this a lot this year-it's rare to have a female lead in this area.

"Yeah, I do." I said. The guys behind me smirked. They knew this would happen a lot too.

"Great, where?" He asked, excited.

"You're looking at her." I said, holding back a laugh. He stared at me as if I had grown an extra head.

"Really?!" He asked, surprised. He turned around and yelled to his trumpet friends, "I found their lead! And it's a girl!" A massive crowd of East Rock boys came and gathered around me, asking me all sorts of questions. They were all really cool guys.

With a few minutes remaining in the quarter, we all said good-bye and promised to add each other on our Facebooks, and headed back to our respective sides. Sycamore Valley was now leading by an extremely large margin. Back in our seats, Coolidge had the section leaders do a head count. Thankfully, all the trumpets and mellos were accounted for. It would be a major pain having to locate people in the massive crowds. The head cheerleader (my sister's role model) came over to the band bleachers and started to talk to Coolidge. He nodded to her and she ran back to her cheerleaders, excited. They all ran over to be right in front of us on the track. The band jumped up excitedly. The cheerleaders bent over and popped up yelled "Let me see you shoot the moon!"

"What'd ya say?" The band yelled. "What's going on?" Adriana asked, looking very lost. "Just follow along, you'll get it!" I said, laughing. Shoot The Moon was my favorite cheer, just because it was absolutely ridiculous.

"Let me see you shoot the moon!"

"What'd ya say?" The band yelled, ready to dance.

"I said, shoot the moon, shoot shoot the moon-'WHAT?!'" The brass upperclassmen added-"Shoot the moon, shoot shoot the moon!" Everyone cheered. The cheerleaders went into other Shoot The Moon cheers, including Do The Pee-Wee, Pump A Well (which last year turned into Hump A Whale for the brass), Do The Shopping Cart, Do The Twist and others of equal insanity. Shoot the Moon was the only time I allowed myself to be seen dancing in public. And I let myself dance. I was vaguely aware of my sister staring at me, mortified. James must have seen her, because I heard him lean over and say, "Well, your sister can't twist, but she sure can rock and roll!"

* * *

_A/N-Wooooooo longest chapter ever-weighing in at 12 Word pages and over four thousand words! I loved writing this chapter, hope you loved reading it too! Happy Christmas, New Years, and anything else I missed! Thanks for reading!!_


	23. The Beginning of a New Year

_A/N- Yay for writing time! Happy New Year everyone. _

_Thanks to projectfreq91, vampirelurver979, Silvorfithrade, JacokNortovc, Hottie12345k, Lily-Snape568, CookieLover92, maria.boom.baby and kellybandclarinet. Lyrics aren't mine. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty Three-The Beginning of a New Year

_Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash  
As we fell into the sun  
And the first one said to be the second one there  
I hope you're having fun_

_Band on the Run-__**Paul McCartney **_

* * *

_Twas the night before school started and all though the house_…I sighed, glancing at the black mesh backpack sitting innocently near my desk. The summer seemed to have flown by. I picked up my bag and took it downstairs. I packed a lunch for myself (first day of school lunches sold at the school always had a three month old taste to them) and grabbed a Sharpie to write my name on the brown paper bag. Avery wasn't getting away with stealing my lunches this year.

This year I was able to drive myself to school, so I got a lot more sleep then I had in past years. The next morning I got my stuff together and got in my car, ready to drive off. I was backing out of my driveway when I noticed a figure running for the bus, which was pulling away at the mouth of the cul-de-sac. When the bus was out of sight, the person stopped running and swore. I recognized who it was and smiled.

"Need a ride James?" I asked smartly, rolling down the window. He turned around to face the direction of my voice and shrugged.

"That would be convenient." He said, walking over to my Honda and moving my bag out of the way so he could climb into the passenger's seat.

I pulled into my spot at the high school which was, of course, in the music wing parking lot. I locked my car and tucked my keys into my bag and headed for the door. There were no homerooms at Sycamore Valley High; rather, you went immediately to your first class of the day. My parking spot was incredibly convenient, since my first class of the day alternated between jazz band and wind ensemble. I opened the door and grabbed my backpack and walked towards the building. James followed me, a confused look crossing his face.

"Um, Sydney?" He asked catching up to me.

"Yeah?"

"Where do I go?" He asked. I looked at him as if he had three heads, but then remembered that he's new. The only room he knew was the band room.

"Oh…what do you have first?" I asked. He wasn't in jazz band because he wasn't in the district in so he couldn't audition last spring.

"English with Brand." He said.

I had her last year in honors. "I know where that is. From the band room, go down the hall and turn down another one and it's like, one of the first doors on the left."

"Thanks Syd!" He yelled, taking off towards the entrance. I rolled my eyes. He's a weird one.

* * *

Taking my spot in jazz band, I looked around excitedly. I was listed as lead this year, a first for any junior, let alone a girl. Jazz band was easily my favorite class of the day, not counting marching band and drumline, which weren't really classes. Coolidge spoke to all of us about responsibilities, dress code, performances, and competitions. They wouldn't start until February, and were on Friday nights. Coolidge then let us mess around and hang out for the rest of the eighty minute block, occasionally telling stories of jazz bands past.

My next block, I would guess would turn out to be my least favorite course this semester. Advanced Geometry-I just hated math after I had a string of terrible math teachers. This year, the teacher was young and seemed decent, but I decided to save the grading for the first units.

I had lunch after Geometry. I sat down at a round table and waited for someone to come. I felt someone tackle me from behind and saw Missy and Rachel. Hayden and James were behind them, laughing. They all grabbed a seat and we spent the rest of the lunch chatting about classes we'd had so far. Adriana came over half way though the period, looking lost and incredibly confused. I forced James out of the seat next to me so she could sit with us.

A.P. Chem. was completely insane. The teacher had already set several things on fire, and the period flew by. I had music theory also, so I returned to the band room and finished my day there. At the end of the day, I waited at the band room to talk to Sean, who, oddly, didn't show up. A little annoyed, I turned and walked out to my car.

"Hey, Sydney!" I heard someone yell from behind me. I turned around, thinking it could be Sean. A bit of disappointment filled me when I saw it was James. I went back to walking towards my car. James soon caught up.

"What, upset that it wasn't Sean?" He asked, jokingly.

"Actually kinda." I said. "He said he'd meet me. I guess he just forgot."

"Oh. That sucks. Can I get a ride home?"

"Yeah sure James." I said, now thoroughly annoyed.

* * *

_A/N-Okay, I know that this was really really really short but it's really more of a transition chapter then anything else. Anyway, hope you all have a Happy New Year! And I posted the first of one hundred DYMM drabbles…go check it out!_


	24. Dismantle Me Down

_A/N-Happy New Year everyone! Thanks to Wicked Winter, CookieLover92, JacokNortovc, Hottie12345k, vampireluver979, projectfreq91, dutchesscourtney and Kojin for reviewing! _

_Be sure to check out the drabbles! Lyrics aren't mine. And neither is Wawa, Star Wars, glow sticks, Wicked, wall ball, McDonalds, iPod World (property 2007 Mirage Indoor Drumline), "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" and anything else that belongs to pop culture. I went a bit crazy with this chapter. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty Four-Dismantle Me Down

_I am the patron saint of lost causes  
A fraction of who I once believed (change)  
Only a matter of time  
Opinions I will try and rewrite_

_If life had background music,  
Playing your song,  
I've got to be honest, I tried to escape you  
But the orchestra plays on, _

_And they sang,  
Oh, oh, things are gonna change now for the better  
Oh, oh, things are gonna change_

_Hands like secrets are the hardest thing to keep from you_

_Lines and phrases like knives your words can cut me through  
Dismantle me down, (repair) you dismantle me, you dismantle me_

_Dismantle.Repair.-__**Anberlin **_

* * *

I felt betrayed almost. It was weird. I wouldn't have expected Sean to stand me up like he did. James made several smart remarks about why Sean didn't show until I threatened to leave him stranded at Wawa after stopping for gas and dinner, since no one at home would be able to cook. My mom, the real estate agent, was in the process of making a huge sale, and my dad, the dj at a local radio station was out covering for another dj at the station and then going to a station event. Danny was back at college for his senior year, so it was Avery, Leo, Grandpop and I at home. My grandfather hated cooking, and I would have caused a mess and several small (or large) fires, so he gave me a twenty this morning and told me to stop somewhere for food.

I paid for my gas and James offered to pump it for me while I got the food. While I normally pumped my own gas, my wanting to get home let him pump. After I got our hoagies, James went in to grab a soda and a bag of chips.

"So I don't lose my curvy figure." He said, opening the passenger side door, striking a pose before sitting. I laughed and drove us home.

At home, we ate early. Since all of us normally had things to do at night, dinner was often made as soon as there were people at home to eat it, which was normally not long after getting home from school. My dad was normally the one who was home all the time, since he worked mornings, so he did a lot of the cooking. I didn't have band tonight, since it was the first day of school and a Wednesday, but Avery had community cheerleading and Leo had karate. After eating and they had changed into their respective uniforms, I drove Avery to the community park where they played the community games and to the shopping center where Leo's karate school was, and headed home to do the little homework I had. I had a few first day forms to sign and fill out; typical first day stuff. Once at home, I hopped online and checked my buddy list. I talked a bit to Rachel and Missy. Glancing back at the list, I noticed Sean was online.

_TrmptxGirl-you know, it's pretty cool that you ditched me today._

No reply.

_TrmptxGirl-like you are right now!_

Still no answer.

_TrmptxGirl-you there?_

_TrmptxGirl-k bye. _

"What a jerk!" I yelled at no one in particular.

"Who's a jerk, Sydney?" Grandpop asked from the top of the stairs.

"Oh no one. Just life in general." I called up to him.

"That's the way it is sometimes." He said.

"Yeah basically." I signed off and chilled for the rest of the night.

* * *

Walking into Wind Ensemble the next day, I saw Sean talking to Kyle over in the corner. I sat down in my chair and unpacked my trumpet. Abby was sitting in Missy's seat in the tenor section. I laughed a bit as I pictured Missy's reaction to the bright pink glow stick in her chair. James plopped down next to me.

"So, the tomato still isn't talking to you?"

"No, I'm not talking to him." I said, oiling up my valves.

"You didn't deny that he's a tomato though!"

"He's not a tomato, James." I said, glaring at him. I went back to my valves as James walked away to go talk to someone else. I was warming up when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Sean standing there behind me.

"I saw your IMs last night, but my sister was on so I couldn't get to them, and you had already signed off when I came back." He explained in a rush.

"Whatever." I said, turning back to my trumpet and to take the music that I was being handed.

"Syd, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, okay, that's great." I said. He had been rude to me, so I was being rude right back.

"What did I do?" He asked my back, exasperated.

"Well, ignoring me yesterday might be a bit of a hint." I said, not looking at him but pouring over the new music.

"I didn't mean to!" He said as Burke called for quiet.

As Burke talked about the course to the people who hadn't been in Wind Ensemble before, I could feel several pairs of eyes on me. Sean kept trying to catch my eye and mouth 'I'm sorry'. He did seem truly sorry though…James looked at me because he always did (and he thought I didn't notice!), and Abby, who in between looking hungrily at Christian and James would occasionally send a glare my way just because. I was watching Burke; after all, that's who we were supposed to be looking at and paying attention too.

* * *

After class, I forgave Sean. He had broken though my exterior. I smiled as he hugged me tight and apologized multiple times. Abby caught us hugging and stared. She latched onto James' arm and dragged him off to probably try to pry information out of him, or possibly to try and make out with him. I wished the Force along with him, because if he was alone with Abby he'd need it. Although she had a boyfriend, she didn't care; Abby had one type. Boy.

The day went quickly, and soon I was home, dropping off Avery and Leo at cheerleading and karate respectively, before heading back to the school for band practice. We learned more drill and were able to add more music to the show for tomorrow night's football game. It was an away game, so we had the bus ride ahead of us. The drumline bus was always a good time.

I slammed the door to my locker in the band closet and spun the lock around. It was past nine and I had jazz band first thing tomorrow morning, so Walt was spending the night at school. I stood up and turned around to find myself face to face with Abby.

"So." She said. She was wearing her typical bright pink get up, and the oversized white sunglasses on her face made her look like a giant bug. (I cringed at the fact that Avery had the same sunglasses).

"Okay, can you move?" I said, annoyed. "I'd like to go home."

"Not until we have a little talk." She said, about as sweet as poisoned honey.

"How fun."

"You have a boyfriend?" She asked, removing her sunglasses from her head and perching them on the top of her head.

"Yes. And he's probably waiting for me right now. Now I'm sure your slave is waiting for you, so why don't you go." I said. I picked up my bag and tried to move past her, but she blocked my way. She looked furious.

"Ah, it seemed that the glow stick got snapped!" I said, pushing past her. Sean was leaning against the doorway, trying to suppress laughter, and waiting for me.

"'The glow stick got snapped'?" He asked, shaking with laughter. I simply nodded.

"Good one." Sean replied, laughing and he slipped his arm behind my backpack and placed his hand on my waist.

* * *

After school Fridays during marching band season were the best. There was about an hour of down time before the quick practice before dinner break. We normally hung out at the wall outside the Large Group Instruction room (commonly known as the LGI). There was enough shape on a hot sunny day and the solid brick surface made it perfect for wall ball. We started up a game using the tennis balls Brian found in his car and soon a bunch of freshmen including Adriana and a bunch of her friends joined in. She was beginning to remind me a lot of me, seeing as the majority of her friends were boys and she had an undying love of music. I was really getting attached to this little freshie, who was now making a dive for the tennis ball.

After wall ball (really meaning we had lost all the balls to the roof) we went inside to listen to the brief speech about what was going to happen today. We ran though a few stand tunes and then went outside and stretched and did a run though of the show. At five, we were dismissed to go get dinner. I dumped my stuff in the band room and grabbed my wallet from my garment bag. I quickly packed up my trumpet and made sure I had everything I needed before handing it off to a band parent who was loading all the instruments into the band truck. I had to wait for Missy and Rachel to be ready to go and soon we were joined by the boys. We took off and took the short cut to the nearby McDonalds. We had to be back at the school in uniform by six so we could roll out of the parking lot at six ten, which gave us plenty of time to eat and relax. The game was at Parkfield High, which was about twenty minutes away from Sycamore Valley. Their band was smaller then ours and not in our group in competitions, but they were friendly to us and we often saw their indoor color guard and drumline at competitions. They helped us with our stuff when they could and we helped them with theirs when we could.

After eating and dressing in half uniform, I grabbed my tunic and bag and headed for the bus. I took a seat close to the back of the bus near the battery seats, and Missy soon sat down next to me. Rachel was sitting with Kyle in the seat across from us. I pulled out my iPod and my earbud splitters so Missy and I could listen to music together. On the drive over, we wound up getting on to the playlist with all the songs from last year's indoor show, iPod World. The show was amazing and loved by the other lines. We couldn't get anywhere without people complementing us. Missy and I broke out singing along to one of our favorite songs from the show, and the rest of the line began singing it with us.

"AND ALL THE GIRLIES SAY I'M PRETTY FLY!" The boys yelled.

"FOR A WHITE GUY!" The girls yelled back. Missy and I collapsed against each other, shaking with laughter.

* * *

The bus quieted down when we pulled into the parking lot. Missy helped me with my tunic and she turned around and I did hers up. Rachel, always the sensitive one, was worried that she wouldn't do well. Kyle was attempting to reassure her. He was going about it in totally the wrong way. I reached into my bag and pulled out the bag of pixie sticks I had gotten from CVS and waved them in front of her.

"If you stop freaking out you can have some on the ride home." I told her. She immediately calmed down. Never underestimate the power of sugar. I went out to the truck and pulled out a pair of white gloves and put my trumpet together. Grabbing a plume from the plume box I got into line and waited for the rest of the band to get ready so we could get into the stands to watch Parkfield do their pre-game.

Once in the stands, we stood at attention to watch the other band. Their show, "A Night at the Circus", had the potential to be really good. As they marched off the field, someone sang the National Anthem and the band played their Alma Mater from the stands. We all clapped and took our seats, only to have to jump back up again to play the fight song as the football team ran though the cheerleaders' banner. The game began with our kicker punting the ball away.

"Hey trumpets! Come over here! You too, mellos!" I called to my section. "Yeah, gather around. Can you all hear me?" Twelve people nodded at me. "Okay. For some of you this is your first away game. There's a couple things you guys need to know about away games. First, people aren't always going to be nice to you. You're in the band. In their eyes, you're worthless when you're not entertaining them. I know, it sucks, but unfortunally it's true. I know you're not worthless so don't get down on yourself. They're just uneducated fools who wouldn't know the different between a single reed and a double reed. Don't take it personally.

"Second, don't leave your instruments unattended. Someone might find it funny to mess with the band's instruments when they aren't there. You could go to the bathroom third quarter and find your horn destroyed. Normally there's someone here to make sure stuff like that happens though, but I recommend not leaving it out of your sight.

"Third, if I catch you being mean to the other band or if I get wind of someone trashing the other band, I will make you run so many laps your legs will fall off and then you'll being doing pushups until your arms fall off and then you'll be playing lip slurs until your lips fall off! It's about respect. You respect them and ten to one they'll respect you back."

I was greeted with twelve stares. I had taken a little bit of my own flair and put it into the traditional speech, but I guess I had changed it a bit drastically. "Everyone got that?" I asked. They nodded; some of them looked slightly afraid.

* * *

After the show, we went back to the stands to drop our stuff and went out to the concession stands. Sean was no where to be found. I stood, annoyed, waiting for him until I realized he had probably left already. For the second time in two days I was really peeved. I said down in the stands with my arms and legs crossed. I watched as James walked back up the bleacher stairs and when he reached me he handed me a bottle of water and offered some of his fries. Suddenly hungry, I took some and shoved them into my mouth.

"Where's Sean?" He asked. I glared at him.

"Oh. Wrong question?"

"Um, yeah!"

"Do you have any idea on why he keeps ditching you?" James asked, as he watched his fries be slowly picked off one by one.

"No clue." I said, angrily dunking a fry into ketchup. "I guess he forgot about me. Again."

"I don't know Syd. Maybe you should go talk to him." I stared at James.

"Are you giving me real, honest advice?" I asked him, leaning over to feel his forehead. No fever. He looked at me funny.

"Yeah. I guess I am." I stood off and brushed off some crumbs from my pants.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have a boy to beat up." I said, taking the stairs two at a time. There was enough time on the clock for me to find him and try and get some sort of explanation out of him. Down on the track, I wandered around looking for Sean. The track was a mass of red and green uniforms; it looked as if Christmas had thrown up all over the place. It wasn't hard to see the shock of red hair standing out against the green of the Sycamore Valley uniforms. I walked over to him and noticed that he was surrounded by girls. Trying to keep my jealously level to a minimum, I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Sean turned around and immediately smacked himself on the forehead.

"Crap, Syd." He said.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked. "Away from them?" I gestured to the group he had surrounded himself with. He nodded and followed me. I walked behind the concession stands and said, "There's something I think you should know."

"Yeah."

"I think we should just be friends." I said.

"Syd, I have to agree." Sean said, honestly. "Friends?"

He held out his hand. I took it and we shook. We walked back to the stands laughing and talking about random things. I was okay with our break up. Both of us had seen it coming and stayed friends. At least we hadn't been together for an extremely long time like Rachel and Kyle…

"You know what? It's over!" I heard when I got back to the stands. Rachel looked furious, red faced and tear stained.

"Fine!" Kyle said, briskly walking away. Sean and I looked at each other and he went up to deal with his section mate. I bent down to Rachel's level.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We…we…we broke up." She hiccupped through her tears.

"Well, I kinda noticed that. Me and the rest of the band….but why?" I asked. Rachel and Kyle were like the Wonder Couple of the band…the two people most likely to grow old together.

"I like someone else…" She said softly. My eyes widened. That was news to me.

"Who?"

"James…"

"What?!"

"Yeah I know…and the thing is…he said he liked me too…"

* * *

_A/N-I know I know I'm evil! Review!_


	25. Messes Of Men And Women Part I

_A/N-Thanks to Gen, Hottie12345k, Lily-Snape-568, Kojin, maria.boom.baby., dutchesscourtney, JacokNortovc, projectfreq91, and itsmariscul () for reviewing! _

_I've been crazy busy with drumline and auditioning for jazz band and whatnot, so please don't push me for updates. I have a life outside of writing and it's really annoying to see reviews for the drabbles only saying 'update DYMM!!' I post the drabbles faster because I have a bunch of them pre written. _

_I basically love this song…too bad it isn't mine. Characters and situations are!_

_Yeah, we play 'Apache'. We're just cool like that. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty Five-Messes of Men (And Women) Part I

_I do not exist, but faithfully insist  
Sailing in our separate ships  
and from each tiny caravelle  
Tiring and trying there's unnecessary dying  
like the horseshoe crab in its proper seasons sheds its shell  
Such distance from our friends  
like a scratch across a lens,  
made everything look wrong from anywhere we stood  
and our paper blew away before we'd left the bay,  
so half-blind we wrote these songs on sheets of salty wood _

_Messes of Men-__**mewithoutYou **_

* * *

"Uh, what?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I like him, he likes me, and Kyle went all weird about it and I can't control how I feel so he dumped me and I don't know what to do and I like James and I told him and he said he likes me but he doesn't know what to do either so we're both really confused about this!" Rachel spewed.

"A little slower please? You sounded like a hummingbird on Starbucks espresso."

"Kyle kinda freaked when I told him about my feelings." She said, taking a shaky breath. "And I don't know what to do."

"I don't know either." Just at that point, the two minute warning sounded. I gave her a pitying look and went back to my section. I sat down and checked my trumpet and did a head count. I was missing two freshman boys. Annoyed, I went and told Coolidge, and made a mental note to assign a punishment for them later.

"APACHE!" Megan yelled, startling passers-by. We jumped up and began rocking out the stand tune. However, I couldn't shake the weird feelings I was getting. It probably had something to do with my break-up (it felt so weird to call it that), and Rachel and Kyle's official split and the new potential couple of James and Rachel.

* * *

At the end of the game, (a landslide victory for Sycamore) the band packed up their instruments and took off their tunics for the ride home. Rachel was sitting with James in front of Missy and I, and Kyle was sitting with Sean. Rachel and Kyle were still mad at each other, but I had the feeling that this was going to be what finally broke them. The rumors of their spilt were starting to fly-Missy and I were doing our best to shield our dirty blonde friend from them. Rachel got really upset about this sort of thing, which was quite understandable.

Back at the school, I overheard Abby talking loudly to one of her friends. "…it's about time he moved on to someone better-someone with some better taste…I know she's my cousin but it's true…" Furious, I shoved my trumpet case into the hands of a surprised James and stormed over to Abby.

"Abby you wouldn't know good taste if it smacked you in the face." I snarled. She could insult me all she wanted, I didn't care. But the moment she insulted my friends…Abby turned around slowly.

"What did you say?" She asked, her delicate face failing to disguise her anger.

"I said you wouldn't know good taste if it smacked you in the face." I repeated, this time more slowly for emphasis. She glared at me and opened her mouth to retort when a band mom bustled over to us and ushered us all to the band room. I walked back over to James and grabbed my stuff from him. I walked into the band room to listen to the end of Coolidge's post-game speech, reminding us all that we had practice tomorrow. I locked up Walt and checked the lock multiple times before leaving the closet-in the words of my father, I had 'poked the bear' and the bear was ticked. I wasn't sure how much damage she could do, but when it came to my trumpet I wasn't taking any chances. Thinking about it, I opened my locker back up and took Walt with me.

* * *

I hurried out to my car after dismissing the trumpets and headed home. I didn't want to talk to anyone. All I wanted to do was go home and relieve some stress by means of Guitar Hero.

_Girls are dumb. _I thought bitterly, jamming my key into the ignition. Checking the rear view mirror, I saw James running up to me, presumably to ask for a ride. _Boys are pretty dumb too. _I thought, rolling down my window.

"Can I use your car?" He asked.

"What?"

"My car won't start…can I get a jump from you?" James asked. "I've got all the stuff I need in my trunk." I sighed. "Fine." I put my Honda into drive and parked next to James' car. I popped open the hood and connected the cables he had in his hand.

"You know how to do that?" He asked, surprised.

"Duh. I would have thought you realized that I'm not your average girl. I can change flat tires too." I said proudly. "And Missy's car requires a jump about once every three weeks, because it's basically the dumbest thing in the history of automotives." James nodded, looking slightly shell shocked.

After his car was starting to show signs of life again, I disconnected the link from between the two cars. The parking lot was nearly empty now; most band members were gone and the only people around were stragglers from the football game. I said bye to James and climbed in my car.

"Wait!" James called. I rolled my eyes then rolled down the window. "What do you want?" I wanted to go home, I didn't want to sit in the band parking lot for longer then I had to.

"I saw you talking to Rachel." He said. Oh boy, I knew where this was going.

"Yeah, I frequently talk to her-she's one of my best friends."

"Well did she talk about anything in particular?"

"She talked about how she and Kyle broke up." I said vaguely. I didn't feel like giving out more information then needed.

"Did she mention…me?"

"Maybe. She might have mentioned the reason of the break up."

_Ouch, Syd, that was harsh. _

Well he deserved it.

_Really?_

Yeah, he's being dumb and I want to go home.

_Are you sure you aren't jealous? _

No!

_Defensive, aren't we?_

Why would I ever be jealous of James?

_Not of James, of Rachel. She's your best friend, and she's betraying you by liking him._

I'm not jealous of her and she's not betraying me…you can't exactly control who you like.

_But you want to…_

"Yeah, about that…we both like each other, and I want to ask her out."

_WHAT?!_

"You do that." I said. "I'm going home." I put the car into drive and peeled out of the parking lot. I couldn't think of a time when I wanted to leave the music wing more then I did now.

* * *

_A/N-I've decided to spilt this chapter in two…I want to have this up as soon as I can, and getting over being sick I don't know when I'll be able to write again with my busy schedule…Reviews rock!!_


	26. Messes Of Men And Women Part II

_A/N-So hopefully this will be up pretty fast, school got cancelled thanks to snow, but I've got some papers due soon and other fun stuff. Lyrics aren't mine, just immensely long. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty Six- Messes of Men (And Women) Part II

_Caught me making eyes at the other boatman's wives,  
and heard me laughing louder at the jokes told by their daughters  
I'd set my course for land,  
but you well understand  
it takes a steady hand to navigate adulterous waters  
The propeller's spinning blades held acquaintance with the waves  
as there's mistakes I've made no rowing could outrun  
The cloth blowing on the mast like to say I've got no past  
but I'm nonetheless the librarian and secretary's son  
with tarnish on my brass and mildew on my glass,  
I'd never want someone so crass as to want someone like me  
but a few leagues off the shore, I bit a flashing lure  
and I assure you, it was not what I expected it to be!  
I still taste its kiss, that dull hook in my lip  
is a memory as useless as a rod without a reel  
To an anchor ever-dropped, seasick yet still docked  
Captain spotted napping with his first mate at the wheel,  
floating forgetfully along, with no need to be strong  
We keep our confessions long and when we pray we keep it short _

_I drank a thimble full of fire and I'm not ever coming back_

_Oh, my God!_

_**mewithoutYou-Messes of Men **_

* * *

When I got home, my phone was blinking with ten missed messages. Seven of them were from Rachel, one from Sean, one was from Missy, and the last one was from James. I called Rachel first since she had left the most amount of messages.

"Hey." I said when she picked up.

"GUESS WHAT HAPPENED!!" Rachel yelled.

"What?" I asked, already knowing what she was going to say.

"JAMES ASKED ME OUT!"

"And I'm judging by your excitement you said yes?" I flopped down on my bed.

"Yes!" I couldn't help but feel happy for her.

"Have you two set a day to actually go out?"

"Yeah tomorrow after practice we're going to Julie's for ice cream."

_James took you for ice cream first…remember how that turned out?_

"That's cool; practice is going to be really hot tomorrow!" I said, trying to force the memory of James and my trip to the local ice cream shop out of my head.

"Yeah I know. Hey what was Abby saying to you earlier? You looked like you wanted to kill her!" I cringed on the other end. I didn't want to tell Rachel the details of the conversation since it would ruin her happiness.

"Oh you know…she's just a drama queen." I said, dodging the subject. Thankfully, Rachel bought it and we chatted about boys when I remembered. "Oh yeah, Sean and I broke up today." I added offhandedly.

"WHAT?!" Rachel yelled on the other end. I held the phone at arms length while Rachel yelled about how stupid he was to dump me.

"And why didn't you tell me sooner! I told you all about James-oh no did that make you upset?! I'm so sorry!"

I had to laugh a bit. "No I'm sorry. I would have told you sooner, but I kinda forgot. It was mutual, so you don't have to worry about me. And I'm happy for you, really I am."

_Liar, liar, suspenders on fire. _

Well I am happy for her.

_But not James. _

Right.

_Don't you think they're moving a little fast?_

Yeah…after all, she just broke up with Kyle tonight and she already has a new boyfriend? It's only a little ridiculous. But this is Rachel we're talking about…

_Exactly…your best friend and your…_

If you want to live you won't finish that sentence.

_You can't kill your subconscious! _

* * *

I told Rachel I'd see her tomorrow and called Missy. Her dad picked up and told me she was in the shower and I told him I'd talk to her tomorrow. Her message said she knew about my break up and she wanted to make sure I was okay. I called Sean on his cell and he picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Syd."

"Hey. Sorry I didn't get back to you right away, I was talking to Rachel."

"Oh yeah I heard she and Kyle broke up."

"I think the opposing band heard it." I remarked. Sean laughed.

"Anyway, I thought I'd tell you why I figured we should break up." He said, sounding slightly nervous. I was intrigued now.

"Okay."

"I just want to tell you that you had nothing to do with this, and I still think you're amazing and I hope we can be friends." Sean said. Now I really wanted to know what his reasoning was. "I met someone else."

"Really?" I asked, curious. It was funny how I didn't feel angry or jealous at all. "Who is it? Do I know her?"

"Um…no. He goes to Parkfield."

"Oh that's coo-wait did you say 'he'?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah…" Sean said, his voice trailing off. "You're the first person who knows."

"Well it makes sense…" I said. "That's really brave of you. Coming out like that."

"Thanks. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow though…it's going to be a long day."

"Yeah it will be." I glanced at the clock. It was past eleven. "Sean I should probably go. You know, sleep."

"Me too. Listen, I'm really glad you're cool with this." He said. Sean sounded apologetic.

"Well of course I'm cool with it! You're my friend, I don't care if you're gay or straight or whatever! You are who you are. Anyway, with all this romance drama we could put on our own little production of RENT right here in Sycamore." I said. Sean laughed.

"Okay. Goodnight Sydney, don't let the bedbugs bite!"

"I don't know where you sleep, but my bed certainly doesn't have bedbugs in it!" I said with mock anger. Sean laughed again. "See you at practice Sean."

"Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and returned the phone to its dock and turned in for the night. I vaguely remember that James had called, but I shrugged it off and gave into sleep.

* * *

The next morning came too quickly, and the ensuing practice dragged on for what seemed like years. It was hot out, and we did a lot of drill cleaning before learning more of the show. While I was incredibly excited for the first show next Saturday, I was worried about the large amount of newbs in my section and how first show jitters would take them. I was thinking maybe all of us could have breakfast together before the show and preceding practice but I'd need to talk to the low brass as well. It wasn't a Brassline breakfast without them (and Brian and I were the only drivers in the high brass and we needed the brass to get back to the school for practice after eating). Sean, being a typical boy, would say yes at the prospect of food.

The ensuing week went rather quickly. I had jazz band three times, and was getting excited. This year's jazz band had a lot of talent and I was actually looking forward to the winter concert. AP US was a fun course, I found. I always loved history so it came rather easy to me. It was a huge improvement from the honors courses that were only offered before. Chem. was insane; there were several holes in the ceiling as a result of our experiments, and our teacher was ridiculously awesome. I liked most of my classes this semester.

* * *

Friday night was the team's only bye week until playoffs, so the band got a surprising fall Friday night off. I found myself sitting at home, bored out of my mind. I grabbed my phone to see if any of my friends were open to fun and debauchery. Not surprising, Missy, Rachel, Hayden and Sean were all free to go out. What can I say, when we don't have a football game us band kids have no clue what to do with ourselves! We decided to hit up the local bowling alley, which was always a fun time. I drove and picked up Sean and Hayden and headed over to the Burnin' Bowl. I paid for my shoes and headed to lane 28 with the guys in tow and saw Missy, Rachel…and James? I had completely forgotten that he and Rachel were dating, but there it was out in the open. I shrugged it off and went to go pick out a ball.

My bright red ball hardly made it to the pins. I was horrible at bowling, but I loved hanging out with my friends. Hayden attempted to help me bowl, but I wound up dropping the ball into the gutter. Sean howled with laughter as I slid around trying to bowl. Rachel sat on James' lap while she laughed at my pitiful attempts to bowl. Rachel was always after me, and she destroyed everyone. James and I kept a distance from each other that no one else seemed to notice. Sean gave me a weird look every now and again that I thought maybe he might say something, but he didn't. After my thirteenth gutter ball in a row, they sent me to go get sodas and I came back to find Sean bowling in my place and breaking my streak.

* * *

Early the next morning I woke up, grabbed my stuff and drove over to Sycamore Heritage; a local buffet that was open this early. I parked and moved my uniform and bag to the trunk and headed inside with my camera, knowing that Brassline breakfast was going to be insane.

Adrianna had gotten used to the boys' incredible eating possibilities and was up there with them fighting for a spot in the line. I watched, making sure no one got killed, as my section and Sean's wiped out the buffet. Eating was a fairly quiet affair, since most seemed to be nervous about the upcoming show and their mouths were too full to even attempt to speak. The low brass was a vet majority, so they weren't as freaked. They were discussing how someone could get their foot stuck in the bell of their trombone.

"What if you kicked it?" Kelsey, the only low brass girl asked.

"Why would you kick your trombone, you've got the best one out of all of us!?" Sean cried. The boys were all in love with Kelsey's rose gold trombone.

"I don't know, why would you kick it?!"

"Hey remember that one jazz band show in junior high?" I asked. "When that seventh grader tried clicking his heels together over Zach's trombone?"

"Don't remind me of that!" Zach said. The seventh grade trumpet player came down and accidentally punted the poor trombone and destroyed the bell, all right before we were about to go on. The director's face was priceless, and thankfully the trombone was able to be fixed.

We spent the rest of breakfast chatting about shows and other random topics before realizing that we had to get to the school, pronto. The high brass girls all piled into my car and we tore back to the high school, making it with minutes to spare. We ran out to the practice field with angry glares from the drum major and Burke. We weren't technically late, but to be on time was to be late according to the higher band powers.

The last run of the day was fairly decent. I had a feeling that a majority of the band was pretty nervous. I sat, leaning against the wall eating my food from Wawa, and watched the drumline form a circle to do their annual sway and talk. Noah poked his head out of the circle and beckoned me over. I shoved my food out of sight and ran over to join them. I hadn't been in a sway circle since Wildwood.

"Everyone here? Good." Noah said. "Let's just sway a bit." After about a minute, Noah started talking again. "Look guys,"-a glare from the drumline girls and I-"and girls…I know it's scary. Going out there and performing while there are random people walking the field? You might hit a judge. But don't worry about that. They're fun to hit, especially when you're marching bass 5." The Line laughed. "But you've all marched this show before, but now you're actually marching for people who want to see you!" They're going to love you because our show is going to be better then everyone else's! Hands in, Spartans on three. One, two, three!"

"SPARTANS!" The circle bellowed.

_So maybe your life is crazy. _I thought to myself. _But I'd rather it be crazy and have these guys then it be normal without them. _

* * *

_A/N-Okay, a little bit of a cheesy ending, but I've got a lot of stuff coming up and I really wanted to get this done. Next chappie will be the first show of the season!! Reviews rock!!_


	27. Are You Ready?

_A/N-Thanks to Kojin, JacokNortovc, Silvorfithrade, CookieLover92, Hottie12345k, dutchesscourtney, Lily-Snape-568, itsmariscul, mor, whoa mo, Dpbuckeye, and Jollibee for reviewing!_

_Excuses for chapter delay this time…drumline, home show, studying for my driver's permit, studying as to not fail school, drumline, computer issues, computer updates, a massively pregnant sister, drumline, AND I'm helping dutchesscourtney edit __A Fine Line_. _Oh yeah, and drumline too. _

_Lyrics aren't mine. I put in Arctic Monkeys for you Jake!!_

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven- Are You Ready?

_It's the beginning of the end, the car went up the hill,  
And disappeared around the bend, ask anyone they'll tell you that.  
It's these times that it tends,  
The start to breaking up, to start to fall apart  
Oh! hold on to your heart._

_Do me a favour, break my nose!  
Do me a favour, tell me to go away!  
Do me a favour, stop asking questions!_

_Do Me a Favour- __**Arctic Monkeys **_

* * *

Pulling into the parking lot at Arcadia High School, the bus fell quiet. Focus was key now-with so many noobs concentration could be shaken quite easily. As a captain, I was one of the first to leave the bus. I fell into line next to Noah and marched to the truck where all the instruments were loaded. Abby and Oz's sections (the flutes and clarinets respectively) were already off the buses with instruments assembled. They were silent, for once, and both sections looked as fierce as they could. I helped the band parents who drove the truck unload it and line up all the instruments. I could see the double line of green uniforms make their way towards us, lead by Megan and kept in step by the dutting of center snare Keith. Once they were given permission to break ranks, the band members all scrambled for their cases. I handed a terrified looking Adrianna her case and gave her a small smile. She weakly returned it.

I jumped down from the truck, mindful of the brace on my right knee. I pulled Walt out of his case and grabbed my competition gloves and a bottle of valve oil, just to be on the safe side. Once my case was safely in the hands of Brian's dad, I took a spot in the double lines next to Adrianna. I wanted her to relax before the show-it was by no means cool out and I didn't want her to pass out or hurt herself before her first show. We marched to the area where we were going to be warming up in; it was a side parking lot that was, thankfully, shaded. The drumline and color guard went off to warm up on their own while Coolidge led the instrumentalists in scales, chords, and parts of the show. Megan had left with the drumline to help them.

After a somewhat shaky warm up for most sections (I could hear Perry flipping out at the drumline from the other side of the lot), Coolidge had us bring it in around him.

"Guys, calm down. This is the first show of the season-the first first show for many of you and the last first show for many of you also. You guys shouldn't be freaking out about this. We're only competing against one band tonight. It's North York, and before you guys say anything I want you guys to be calm and cool about this. Right now I'm more concerned with getting the nerves out of you. This isn't the first time that we've preformed this show, but this is the first time where a majority of people are actually going to be paying attention. Don't worry about them. Ten to one they won't notice if you mess up! Just go out there and do the best show you can, and whatever happens happens, okay?" A few people nodded. "Alright guys, take a few minutes to relax before getting ready to go-it's hot and we don't need anyone throwing up or passing out before the show!"

With that, I gathered up the trumpets and mellos and we found a nice cool spot to squat down for a moment.

"I've got one word for you. Relax. That's all. We've done this before-We are the high brass! We can do anything, right?"

I got several blank stares. Only Brian seemed to feel my need-to-boost-confidence vibes. He nodded at me. "Look, it can't be worse then my first show. It was so hot-I got over heated and puked." This only seemed to make the rookies even more afraid. I slapped my forehead. "Thanks Brian."

* * *

The trumpets and mellos spent the rest of the time quietly reflecting on the upcoming show. We waited for the announcement from the instructors or Megan to get in line formation. Megan was walking around to the various sections and was speaking to them. When she came to the high brass she pulled me aside.

"How are they?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"Honestly they're all over. The rookies are really nervous and the vets aren't."

"It's like that throughout the band so it's good that it's not just them." She said, glancing over my shoulder to look at my rookies. They were a collective shade of pale and looked like they were about to throw up.

"I've got to get to the guard…we're leaving in a few minutes." Megan said as she left. I headed back over to my section.

"Guys, we're going to be leaving in a few minutes so just take deep breaths. Don't panic." I said. Adrianna waved me over.

"I can't do this." The freshman said. She looked petrified.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can do it!" I said, trying to boost the younger girl's confidence.

"I can't I can't!" She cried. She was shaking.  
_  
If you don't calm her down she's going to have a panic attack._

Little late for that, don't you think?

_Oh shut up._

"Look Adrianna, I know you don't think it, but I'm nervous too. This is my first show leading you guys. I'm worried that I didn't do enough to get you guys to be the best you can be. Can you prove me wrong?" I asked her, speaking in low urgent tones. I knew how tough a section of boys could be on a crying girl and Adrianna looked close to tears. She took a deep, shaky breath.

_Okay, now we're getting somewhere._

"It's okay if you screw up. You're not perfect-"

"But I want to be!" Adrianna interrupted.

"I know you do." I said patiently. "But first you have to walk before you can run." Adrianna nodded. "You can do this Adri. I know you can." She weakly smiled and picked up her horn with a new, cocky stance in her walk.

There's still hope for her yet…I smiled at my young project and an idea popped into my head.

"Hey Adri!" I called. She turned back to look at me.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" I asked her. There was an evil plan forming in my mind.

"Nothing I think. Why?"

"Because I think the trumpet girls need to have a bonding day. You in?"

"I'll ask my mom but she likes you so she'll probably say yes." Adrianna's smile brightened as she blew air through her trumpet. Picking up my own horn I heard Megan call for the band to get into a double line for our walk to the field. Megan took us so we weren't passing many bands which was probably a good thing. North York, our rivals, was supposed to be here, which was the major veteran freak out. North York was good. They were our major competition at shows-the title of champion was frequently passed between the two schools. The vets decided not to share this little detail with the rookies so they wouldn't freak out more then they already were. They were our only competition tonight.

North York was on the field before us when we got to the stadium gates. The band broke and formed the block and got ready to march onto the field. "Deep breath guys…don't watch York, focus on your show." North York's show finished with a flourish and the audience cheered. A drummer started a tap and the band started moving off the field.

"Stay at attention, don't let them intimidate you." I repeated over and over as the band passed. North York's navy uniforms made them look like a military band, while our green ones made us look like a corps. Megan turned around from her position in front of the flutes.

"MARK, TIME MARK!" She yelled. "FORWARD, MARCH!" Sycamore fell silent as we marched onto the field as the announcer read the write up.

"Fire it up drumline." I heard Noah say behind me as he gave the roll off for the cadence.

The band roll stepped onto the field and made their way to their opening sets after Megan dismissed us. The announcer finished up with the write up and said, "Sycamore Falls High School, the judges are ready. Is the band ready?" Megan clapped four times. "BAND TEN HUT!"

Horns went to attention cleanly as the band responded with a deafening hut. The crowded yelled in appreciation. Megan saluted and turned around. She locked eyes with me and began counting. I stepped out of the form and started to play. I could hear the comments of the judge near me.

"And it's clear to see that the trumpets are really here in full force this year…your lead has some extreme chops for such a small fellow..." I tried not to focus on the comments of the judge and continued on with the solo. The rest of the trumpets soon joined me and the show kicked off with a loud blasting chord from the brass. I winced slightly. It was splatty, but I had other things to focus on now. The band sped off at high speeds through the show. It still wasn't done completely, but we were up to playing the ballad on the field. We'd be learning the drill for it this week.

* * *

The band managed to survive the show in one piece. It was by no means our best run, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it. The judges that I had heard hadn't been too mean to us either. I held these thoughts close as I tightened my grip on my horn and gave the command for the trumpets to move forward from our position in the backfield.

"Trumpets mark time!" I called loud enough for the trumpets to hear me. "Forward, march!" I lead my section off the field and joined onto the rest of the line behind the clarinets. We would march back to the truck, dump our instruments and then change into street clothes. The march back to the truck was short. We marched into a spiral around Coolidge and waited for the rest of the band to join in.

"Well, first of all, shakos off!" Coolidge said. The band breathed a collective sigh of relieve as we pulled off the heat retaining hats. "So, that was your first show for the judges. What'd you think?" There was some muttering from the band members. It hadn't been terrible…

"Guys for the first time at a competition it wasn't that bad. There were a lot of good things out there…but then there were a lot of things that popped up that none of us have ever seen before which we're gonna have to fix at practice but good job guys! Girls are changing first today-after instruments are on the truck you can go and get some water from the boosters and get out of your uniforms! Noah, Megan, Clara, you guys are going on retreat tonight. Stay in uniform. Alright, go." The band scrambled to get everything on the truck and the girls ran to the buses to get out of the wool uniform. I was on the drumline bus which always had the least amount of girls on it. Missy, Rachel and I got changed and grabbed the green Sycamore Falls rain coat. The rain coat had to be on us at all times when we were in street clothes at shows-it was Coolidge's way of noticing if it was his band that was causing trouble. I checked to made sure I had my wallet and cell phone before leaving the bus (I hated having to yell though the bus windows to get one of the guys to grab my stuff for me).

* * *

Missy, Rachel and I walked around the track where various stands were set up. We bought food for now and stored a bit for the ride home and looked at the band related souvenirs. Laughing at some randomly funny shirts we headed up into the stands to watch some other bands and wait for retreat. I sat next to Sean and we babysat our sections together, making sure that they didn't get out of hand and disgrace us all. I was really glad that we were cool after our brief relationship, and I was truly happy for my ex. He was going to be hanging out with the boy he liked tomorrow and I was really excited for him. I told him that I wanted all the details as soon as he got home.

Coolidge saw us in the stands and waved us over to him. He was munching on some cotton candy and seemed to be looking for something.

"Just the people I wanted to see!" He cried, waving his candy around. Sean made a lunge for it and managed to grab a chunk of cotton candy. He stuffed it in his mouth before Coolidge could notice; although the candy made his cheeks puff out so that he resembled a red headed squirrel.

"So anyway, while Burke and I are off getting the tapes and while Megan's on retreat I'm putting you two in charge. Make sure everyone's at attention and make sure no one does something really stupid all right?" Sean and I nodded. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Burke.

"I was looking everywhere for you! They have cotton candy here!!" My director yelled at his assistant. I shot Sean a look and stifled a laugh. Coolidge was just a big kid, really.

We headed back into the stands and sat in front of the rest of the band and watched the remaining bands. When the host band came onto the field, Sean and I turned around. I looked at him.

"You do the honors-you're louder then I am." He said. I wasn't about to argue.

"SYCAMORE STAND UP!" I yelled at our band. They jumped to their feet, apparently startled by my loudness.

I clapped four times. "Band ten hut!" The band snapped to attention silently as to not mess up the band that was marching on. "Parade rest!" I called. There was a brief shuffling as feet slid shoulder length apart and hands clapped together in the center.

The band watched Arcadia's show with attention and clapped like the rest of the people in the stands when it was over. They weren't awful, but they weren't the best I'd ever seen. I reminded myself that this was only the first show of the season and they had time to improve and it would probably get better over time.

The band stood in silence, clapping politely for the other bands in different groups as they were placed. When Group Four was announced, I turned around to face them again.

"Band ten hut!" I said after giving four prep claps. The band snapped to attention and stood silently. I turned back around and locked onto the small forms of Megan and the two senior representatives. The band behind me seemed to be holding their collective breaths.

"In second place with a score of 73.4 and taking the captions in High Music and Visual, Sycamore Falls High School!" Biting my lip, I stood ready for what I knew was coming next.

"In first place with a score of 75.1 and receiving captions in Color Guard and percussion, North York High School!" North let out a loud cheer and we clapped politely for them. I could tell that the guard and line were rather peeved by the lack of captions, but at least they hadn't completely destroyed us. We were within two points of beating them. The band cheered as the representatives were dismissed and as Megan, Clara and Noah returned bearing the 2nd place trophy and two smaller caption awards. I could tell that Clara and Noah were unhappy with the lack of their sections' caption awards.

Sean and I ordered the band out of the stands and shuffled them all into rows two by two. We marched back to the buses and climbed back on for the ride home. Coolidge promised he'd let us listen to the tapes on Tuesday-according to him there was some amusing things on there. I could only guess that I had been assumed to be a boy again.

I settled into my seat and watched around me as role was called and the bus pulled out of the parking lot. The DS's were brought out and the music from Mario Kart began to fill the bus. I pulled out my iPod and a notebook, occasionally jotting down things I had noticed in the show that could be improved or fixed at practice this week before the next show. It wasn't long before I dozed off, even with all the post show noise around me.

* * *

_A/N-The review box is calling your name! _


	28. Break Out

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Hottie12345k,  
FerventxXxMPGirl (two times!), hazeleyedhottie, dutchesscourtney,  
Lily-Snape-568, Live.Love.Band, CookieLover92, Samurai Angel, Dpbuckeye for  
reviewing! This chapter will be up before I go to Wildwood for drumline championships, and after that, the season's done. It's really flown. My writing time should increase slightly, but there's spring training for outdoor, band concerts and finals coming up. I'm not promising any miracles, just bare with me until the summer!!  
And because I am a genius and accidentally leaked the chappie in the drabbles, I'm posting this now. Sorry about the messed up type, much of this chapter was written through e-mail.  
Lyrics aren't mine, plot and characters are._

Chapter Twenty Eight-Break Out

_Luck loves me not tonight; I'm running out...  
This four leaf clover's all but useless now.  
I've got four wheels that say I'm not alone tonight,  
I'm always looking for a joy ride through the,  
brightest part of this town._

_Break out, break out,  
as we escape through the windows,  
head for the car, and never look back, singing-singing,  
"Break out, break out,  
Our time has come and we've got these big city dreams."_

_Break Out! Break Out!-__**All Time Low**_

* * *

_  
_The next day I picked up Adrianna at her house and we drove out to the  
huge mall about a half hour away. While the local mall was great, I  
figured she had been there hundreds of times. It was the one of the  
only things to do in this small town. For the ride I asked her to  
bring a CD or two of her favorite music so we could listen to it on the  
highway. It was a Taking Back Sunday album-well worn by the looks of  
the case. She knew every lyric by heart, and with a little  
encouragement, was proudly singing them out loud.

Pulling into a spot, I reached into the back to grab my white and black  
bag. "Alright, let's go." Adrianna clamored out of the car and  
scrambled to get to my side. Though I wasn't much taller then her, she  
looked at me like I was seven feet tall.

"So we're on this little field trip today to boost up your confidence.  
You have been getting better, but you can never have too much  
confidence!" I said, glancing at my young charge. She looked  
confused.

"How can a trip to the mall do that?"

"You'll see." I said, winking at her. I spied a group of good looking  
boys grouped at the bus stop. "Here-lesson one." I stood up as  
straight as I could, ran my fingers through my hair and let a small  
smile fall on my lips. I walked right past the boys and listened for  
any comments.

"Hey, you see her?"

"Yeah she was pretty hot!" I laughed to myself. Adrianna looked  
dumbstruck.

"Boys are simple creatures." I said, but then corrected myself when I  
thought of Sean. "Well, most of them are anyway."

"Oh." She said.

"Don't worry, by the end of the day the boys will be saying that about  
you." I smiled.

* * *

Adrianna and I walked into the mall and headed straight for the Macy's.  
After picking up an outfit for her and trying on several ridiculous  
dresses we walked around and stopped into some random stores,  
occasionally picking up an item or two. At the food court we stopped  
and got fries and some Starbucks. Adrianna was starting to loosen up  
a bit. I now knew her favorite color was navy, she didn't like cats  
and she was worried that no boys would like her.

"I thought that same thing my freshman year." I said, looking at the  
girl across from me.

"You did?" The freshman's eyes were wide with shock.

"Yeah I did. I was always surrounded by them but they never showed any  
interest in being anything more then a friend. So I figured if I  
couldn't date them then I'd be the best friend they could. By then I  
would have gotten over my crush and they'd be crushing on me!" I  
laughed at the memory. "But don't worry about not having a boyfriend.  
You're only a freshman, you're still young. I didn't have my first boyfriend until I was a sophomore. And then of course,  
I've never had one for very long. Ah well, who needs boys?" I said,  
sipping my frappachino.

"But what about James?" Adrianna asked. I nearly choked on my drink.

"Well," I said once my airway was clear, "that's a long story."

"We've got time." She said.

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah-I know the basics but not the details."

I sighed. "Well, we had been friends for years-it was before I met  
Rachel and Missy in middle school. We go that far back. In seventh  
grade I realized I sort of liked him. I was going to ask him to dance  
with me at the Valentine's Dance but when I went over to him I saw he  
was dancing with Abby. And you know, Abby and I aren't exactly the best  
of friends. So when I saw that my best friend and my worst enemy were  
dancing together it ripped my heart out. James started ignoring me and  
hanging around Abby more. He never told me he was moving, just one day  
I went over to his house to try and talk to him and he was gone. His  
mom told me that they were moving and James had gone ahead to get  
settled. She thought I knew-he had been telling her that when he was  
on the phone with Abby he had been talking to me."

"Wow." Adrianna said. "Did you miss him?"

"At first, I did a lot, but then I realized that what he did to me was  
wrong and I shouldn't be wasting all my time and energy on a stupid  
boy." I said causally, really wanting to change the topic. "Let's get  
out of here-we've got some more stores to hit!" I grabbed my drink and  
threw out my trash. Adrianna followed me and we left the Starbucks and  
that conversation behind.

* * *

At the end of the day, I tossed myself down on my bed with my bags. I  
had gotten a new shirt which I was planning to wear tomorrow and some  
music stuff. I put away my stuff and headed down to the computer to  
check my email. There was some stuff from some colleges; most of which  
I deleted. As a junior I had to start applying and auditioning soon,  
get my SATs done and take all the standardized tests the state threw at  
us. I would be taking my PSATs this October on one of the days off in  
the month. My real SATs would be in March. My auditions to Berklee,  
UArts and Julliard were all this upcoming spring. My audition material  
was spread out on my desk-marked up and worn from all the practice. I  
rubbed my eyes. Junior year was turning out to be one of the craziest  
years of my life. My APs were going well and jazz band was coming  
along. There was still drumline, Winter Ball and Prom this year.

The ringing of the phone awoke me from my thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sydney."

"Hey Sean how'd it go?" I asked.

"Oh you know, it was awkward at first and then we started talking and  
it was alright." He said vaugely.

"Really?" I asked, not buying into that being all.

"Yep."

"And you're sure that nothing else happened that was worth mentioning?"

"Oh, well...I'm hanging out with him Wendsnesday after school if that's  
anything to be excited about..." Even over the phone, I could hear the  
smile in my friend's voice.

"That's great!" I yelled. "What are you guys going to do."

"I don't know, probably play video games I guess." I rolled my eyes.

"That's so romantic." I said sarcastically. Sean laughed.

"Yeah I know. So how was your girls' day with Adri?" He knew about my  
plans to make my freshman friend be more confident.

"Oh, it was pretty good. She got a really cute outfit that she looks  
really good in so I'm happy that she's starting to come out of her  
shell." I said, happily. "She got this beautiful purple shirt that  
fits but doesn't make her look slutty and a cute black skirt that's  
spinny and knee-length and-"

"Sydney?" He interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"I may be gay but you're branching into really girly stuff and I'm  
still a boy who likes football and food and video games and defiantly  
not shopping."

"Oh." I said. "Sorry about going all girl on you."

"That's okay." He laughed. "Anyway it was a lot of fun."

"Well that's good." I said. "Well I'll see you tomorrow in jazz band  
okay?"

"Yep see ya."

"Bye." I hung up. I made sure I had all my stuff for school and worked on some homework before falling asleep.

* * *

Over the following week, more drill for the ballad was learned and the  
opener and second song were cleaned. In jazz band we worked on some  
songs that could become competition songs. Wind ensemble was as easy  
as ever-the winter concert music for wind ensemble was never that hard.

There wasn't a show this Saturday so the band spent the day in  
practice cleaning drill and adding the music to the ballad drill.  
Practice was long and hot, and it was a relief to climb into my car and  
the end of practice and head over to Julie's for a post practice cool  
down water ice.

Pulling into the lot, I recognized many cars and figured that many of  
the upperclassmen showed up for a sweet treat after a long sweaty day  
at practice. I grabbed some money from my backpack and walked in and  
sat down at a table with Hayden and Missy.

"James and Rachel decided to get their own table out back." Missy  
explained. I nodded. It seemed that they had been spending a lot of  
time together lately, and frankly, I missed my friend.

"So Hayden what do you think indoor's going to be like this season?" I  
asked when we went up to order.

"Hm I don't know. I'm playing snare defiantly, and I think Missy wants  
to also." I noticed the smiled in his eyes when he said Missy's name. I couldn't believe that I  
hadn't seen it before. Hayden was one of my closest guy friends-and  
there was no one better for him than Missy, now that I thought about  
it.

"Really?" I said, smiling as I received my cherry water ice.

"Yeah." Hayden glanced over his shoulder at Missy who was reading a  
book and sipping an ice tea.

"Is there any other reason why you want Missy on the snare line?" I  
asked.

"No...?"

"Hayden Jensen, you are a terrible liar." I whispered.

"Okay...so maybe I like her!" He hissed. Missy looked up from her  
book and waved. Hayden immediately straightened up and waved back. I  
stifled a laugh behind my hand. Just a little pushing and they'd be  
together by Wildwood at the latest.

"I give my permission." I said as we stopped to grab spoons.

"Well that's good. I'm glad you do." He said sarcastically. I  
punched him lightly in the shoulder. We sat back down at the table and Missy put her book away.

"Thanks!" Missy said as Hayden handed her her ice cream. I watched my  
two friends closely and kicked myself for not noticing their chemistry  
sooner.

I smiled and waved as Missy climbed into Hayden's car. They were cute  
together, and I could tell that they both enjoyed each other's company.

"Hey Sydney!" I heard a yell. I turned around. James and Rachel  
were walking towards me, hand in hand. Stopping myself from rolling my  
eyes, I waved at them. Rachel broke away from her boyfriend and ran  
towards me and gave me a hug. James stood there awkwardly, looking from  
me to his girlfriend.

"What's going on?" She asked me. Rachel was completely oblivious to  
the awkward vibes that were radiating around me and her boyfriend.

"Uh, not much..." I said. I was trying to make my escape less  
noticeable but it wasn't working. Rachel was talking about a date she and James went on, before this priceless gem slipped out-

"We need to hook you up with someone so we can double date!" She cried. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"For that to happen Nat, someone would actually have to like me. And I'm not talking about the freshies in my section-they're just enamored with their first view of an upperclassman."

"But they like you!"

"I'm not dating a freshman!" I hissed loudly. James sent me an odd look, which I returned with a glare. I rubbed my forehead, exasperated. "I'm pretty tired, Nat, I'm going to head out before I fall asleep at the wheel. I don't think my parents or insurance would appreciate that much."

"Oh…okay…I guess I'll see you around." She said before headed back to James. I knew I had just made her upset, but honestly, it was getting annoying. I don't know why I didn't like this new relationship but it was quite frequently getting on my nerves. I never had a problem with Rachel's past relationships. I placed the blame on James, as normal. I didn't like the fact that he was dating my best friend and would probably break her heart for some girl who wasn't worth it at all.

After driving home, I closed the blinds and unhooked the phone and fell asleep.

* * *

_A/N-The review box is calling your name..._

* * *


	29. Not Quite Juliet

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, Silvorfithrade, JacokNortovc, Live.Love.Band, itsmariscul, whoa mor, Lily-Snape-568, Kojin, Jollibee for reviewing!_

_This chapter was delayed by many things-Championships in Wildwood, make up work, the birth of my niece Emma, band and etcetera. _

_Check out my new short story, Flip Flop! Special appearances include Rigby and Jude from dutchesscourtney's 'Major Pain'._

_I own the plot and the characters._

* * *

Chapter Twenty Nine-Not Quite Juliet

_Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame  
Both dirty, both mean, yes and the dream was just the same  
And I dream your dream for you and now your dream is real  
How can you look at me, as if I was just another one of your deals?_

Well, you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold  
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold  
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin  
Now you just say, "Oh, Romeo, yeah, you know  
I used to have a scene with him"

_Romeo and Juliet-__**The Killers (Dire Straights cover)**_

* * *

Two weeks went by and September became October. The weather started to change from blistering heat to comfortable cool. The show was finally complete. Practices consisted of cleaning and adding little elements to make our visual score rise. Competitions were every weekend now until Championships in the second week of November. The only off Saturday was the weekend of Homecoming. The football game would be on Friday night to be followed by other games and spirit events on Saturday before the most ridiculous event of them all-the Homecoming dance.

Danny, my older brother, would be coming home to watch the game and hang out with his old buddies from his high school lacrosse team. Danny's a junior at up at the State college. He got a full ride there because of his wicked skills with a lacrosse stick. My older brother was exactly like an older brother-annoying, protective and pretty cool. His girlfriend, a petite Japanese girl named Akiko, was also coming down with him. They've been dating since they were seniors. I like my brother's girlfriend a lot-she's a fitness nut and is in ridiculously good shape. Akiko also has the sharp sarcasm to counter my brother's momentary lapses of judgment.

Avery was bouncing off the walls in anticipation for the Big Game, as she called it. She couldn't wait to cheer on the track with the varsity squad and cheer on the "cute football players". Grandpop was excited for the game also. In addition to loving band, he loved the football aspect as well. While he wouldn't watch pro football; he loved college and high school football because he said there was more excitement and better playing. This being my third year of marching band, I should probably know more about football than I do.

My youngest brother Leo was looking forward to seeing the complete show. Leo was a sweet kid who looked up to me. He had an interest in learning and couldn't wait to join the band once he got to fourth grade. My parents were also excited for the Homecoming events, as both were Sycamore alumni.

* * *

It seemed that I was the only person in my family not excited for Homecoming. Even the dogs seemed to be excited, but then again, they're always crazy. I wasn't looking forward to Homecoming because I wasn't looking forward to the dance. This year's theme was Midnight Masquerade. Rachelwanted me to go, so I told her I would. She dragged me out dress shopping one Sunday. Missy and I looked at dresses and helped Rachelpick a dress. She finally settled on a grey blue halter that looked really good on her. Once Rachelhad her dress, the pressure was on Missy and myself to find one.

"Find one yet?" I asked Missy as we sifted through racks of dresses.

"If I wanted one to cover my thighs? No. You?"

"Not really. Nothing's really catching my eye. Do you know if you're going with anyone?" I asked. Operation Get Missy and Hayden Together was in full swing. I started planning it during Geometry. First mission is to get a catchier name. At that moment, Rachelran up carrying a small mountain of dresses.

"I found some dresses I think might look good on you guys…go try them on!" Missy and I trudged over to the dressing rooms and began picking through the pile.

"Well I'm not wearing anything pink or sparkly, I know that…" I muttered, tossing a dress matching that description over my shoulder. "So anyway, are you going with anyone?" I asked as casually as I could.

"I don't know…maybe you could go with Hayden and I'll go with Sean?"

"No!" I cried, a little louder than I should have. Missy looked at me funny. My mind was whirling. _Bad Missy! You're supposed to follow my plan and march over and jump on him! _

"Why not? It's not like Hayden will ask me anytime soon." _Good Missy. Now to make you think otherwise and get Hayden to be a man…_

"Really? He's been talking about you lately…" I said, pretending to be more interested in the dress I was examining.

"What did he say?" Missy asked, equally as casual, but I could detect the excitement in her voice.

"He said what a cool girl you are and how he really wants you to march snare with him in indoor this season." Missy blushed. _Hook, line and sinker. _

"What about this one?" She asked. It was a mod little black dress, and looked amazing on her.

"I think you've found your date." I smiled. "I think you've found your dress." I picked up a dark red strapless dress. "Looks like I've found mine too."

* * *

The football team was going into Homecoming week undefeated, a feat not seen since my brother's sophomore year at Sycamore. Spirit week was, of course, very odd. I still don't understand what Favorite Band Shirt Day had anything to do with the upcoming game, but that's beyond me. The day of the game dawned bright and sunny; the teachers didn't bother teaching because they all knew our minds were elsewhere. We watched The Patriot in AP U.S. which turned out to be pretty epic when we all raided the vending machines. I got out of class third block for the pep rally and headed down to the band room. Noah had promised face paint, and I wanted warrior lines on my cheeks. With one black stripe and one green I looked like an eco-friendly zebra.

The pep rally consisted of stupidity of higher levels than what is safe for humans. The events that took place included throwing cheese puffs at people wearing blindfolds. The band collectively cringed-after all, we'd be marching on those cheese puffs tonight at half time.

Hayden and I walked over to the nearby Dunkin' Donuts after school to get something to eat and to have a little talk.

"Missy, Racheland I went shopping this weekend. Missy got the cutest dress…" I said over my bagel. Hayden's ears went red.

"Yeah, she told me about that. Do you know what color it is?"

"Black, why?" I untwisted the cap to my iced tea and took a sip.

"Because I wanted to get her flowers to match. And there aren't any black flowers!" Hayden ran his hand through his hair.

"It's a little late to order a corsage." I said. "You could probably get a bouquet made up tomorrow morning though. And Hayden? That's the beauty of black. Everything matches." I took a bite of my bagel. "White would be pretty. Roses are nice. So are lilies."

"Should I write all this down?" He asked, giving a small laugh.

"With you? Word for word. Maybe you should get a recorder so you can play it back later."

"Haha, very funny." Hayden finished his bagel and grabbed the bag with our 'gift' for Perry. The drumline instructor, we learned last season, loved strawberry cream cheese. For some reason this struck a chord with the line, who went and bought as many packages of strawberry cream cheese as we could. Perry ate most of it on the trip and grossed out many of the girls in the pit.

After giving Perry his bagel, we headed outside to run the show twice and practice stand tunes. Once everything had been deemed excellent, the band was released for dinner and pre-Homecoming rituals. My friends and I all went to the Chinese place down the street to honor the tradition as set down by former band members. Dinner was a slightly crazed and hurried affair, as one could expect when mixing band members and fortune cookies. I cracked open my cookie and read my fortune.

'_Your heart will always make itself known through your words.'_ Shrugging at the meaning, I put the slip of paper into my back pocket and ran with my friends to the school to get ready for the game.

* * *

I was proud of my young friend as I watched her put on her uniform with confidence. Adrianna was shaping into a fierce and strong girl. While she still had momentary lapses in nervousness, she was constantly growing. I felt like a parent, watching their child ride without training wheels for the first time. Band was shaping Adri to be a fine young woman.

The snap of the kickoff in the cool night air was a refreshing relief from the chatter of the Homecoming dance. Rachelwas trying to engross James in talk about the upcoming dance, which was starting to get on the nerves on my section mates. Brian tapped my arm when we were sitting down after playing the Hey Song.

"I know she's your friend, but will you tell Rachel to shut up? I really don't care about the brand of shoes she's wearing tomorrow." I sighed.

"Yeah, I will." I stood up and handed my trumpet to Brian and scooted down the line of trumpets to where James was conversing with his girlfriend.

"Nat I'm gonna have to ask you to wait a little longer to talk to James. It's distracting some of the other trumpets." I smiled at my friend. She glared at me and swiftly turned around. I rolled my eyes at her childish behavior and stepped over people to get back to my spot at the end of the bleacher.

Half time rolled around and the band made their way onto the field with cheers from the crowd. For once, there were people to see us; a large number of graduated band students always came to the Homecoming game to see us take the field and make an obnoxious amount of noise.

"WHAT'S THAT? A GIRL? GO SYDNEY!" A smile came to my face as the graduated trumpet players who made me the section leader I am today cheered for me. As the write up was read, the trumpets gathered in a huddle, as per tradition.

"Short and sweet guys, that's all I got. Do it up, do what you've been doing all season, all day!" I yelled over the noise of the crowd. I took a deep breath before speaking the lines set before me by past section leaders.

"Whose time is it?!"

"Our time!" The vets yelled. The rookies looked slightly confused.

"I said, whose time is it?!"

"OUR TIME!" They screamed.

"That's what I'm talking about! Hands in, 'our time' on three: one, two, three!"

"OUR TIME!" The circle broke and everyone headed to their opening sets. The show started out perfectly, every note nailed by the trumpets made my heart soar higher and higher. The adrenaline rush I was getting was nothing compared to the collective awesomeness of my section's work. By the end of the show, the trumpets were tired but we were able to pull off the ending solo by basically doing a park and bark. The crowd cheered for us and I could hear the band alums yelling as the band marched off the field.

"Hey guys," I said as the trumpets and mellos walked up to our spots in the bleachers to dump our stuff before the third quarter. "That what's I'm talking about."

* * *

Saturday dawned clear and overall a nice day for a dance. I glanced at the dress hanging up in my open closet and groaned. I wasn't really into dancing, but I was going just to hang out and try to make the best of it. Missy, Racheland I had gotten together at Missy's house on Wednesday to make masks to fit in with the theme of the dance. Making a masquerade mask was a lot of fun and it made a huge mess in Missy's room; my red and gold mask was at Missy's house where we'd be taking pictures later today. Hayden had grabbed Missy after the football game and asked her to be his date. Although very last minute, Missy had been thrilled. I had a feeling she suspected my involvement, but I really didn't care as long as she was happy.

I drove over to the florist with Hayden to help him make a bouquet for Missy and to also have one made up for myself (I like flowers like any girl and since I wasn't getting any from a boy, I figured I could get my own). After much shoving on my part, Hayden bought a dozen short stemmed white roses bound together by a sheer black ribbon. It was classic and I was sure Missy would love it. My bouquet was made of tiger lilies and other fall looking flowers to go with my dark red dress. I promised Hayden that I would see him later at Missy's house for pictures (after all, someone had to tell him how to act…) and dropped him off at his house before heading home to get ready.

Avery, bless her preppy little heart, had agreed to help me get ready. Although I never asked her, she barged into the bathroom and grabbed my hands and proceeded to paint my nails. The relentless attack on my physical appearance was so sudden that I had no time to defend myself. My sister however, did alright. My nails were done simply; a French manicure that didn't look overly girly. My hair fell to my collarbone in gentle waves; something I could never do on my own. I actually thought I looked okay. I drove to Missy's house early so I could get my mask and take random pictures with the girls before the boys showed up to ruin our fun.

* * *

Taking pictures with the boys was an odd affair for me. I was the fifth wheel and I knew it, so I stood in the background and ruined a few pictures with awkward turtles and bunny ears before letting my friends have decent Homecoming pictures. Missy's mom got a great picture of me shrugging expressively with my Foster Grants on. I laughed as she showed me the shot.

"Well at least I know I'm getting a new profile picture out of this."

Missy's mom drove us in her awesome van and we arrived in high style. I saw Abby wearing a purple dress (if that's what you could call it since it was so short) and immediately heard her lovely voice.

"Ew Roberson you can actually clean up decently! We finally have proof you're a girl!" I rolled my eyes and held Natalie's arm to stop her from jumping her cousin here in the parking lot.

"Just ignore her. I really don't care." I said, keeping a hold on her arm as I walked into the gym where the dance was being held.

The dance itself was brightly colored and decorated to the max. Thank you, student council. I saw most of the drumline already assembled in one of the corners and I waved. They saw Missy and Hayden and immediately began yelling and carrying on like only drummers can. I laughed and joined them in the now deemed 'Reject Corner'. I happily watched my friends talk and mess around while crappy music blared from the DJ's tables. There was a mass exodus of girls who flew solo as the single boys moved to the walls awkwardly while the first slow song of the evening played. I could see James and Racheltightly entwined out of the corner of my eye and tried to keep from looking at them. I was on the hunt for Missy and Hayden. I found them dancing with each other at arms length. Deciding that that could not do, I walked behind Hayden and purposely tripped so I bumped him into Missy.

"Oops sorry guys…these silly heels…" I smiled at them innocently and walked back over to the Reject Corner. Missy was now buried in Hayden's chest and looked to have no intension of leaving. Hayden had a blissful smile on his face and when I caught his eye he nodded his thanks at me.

_So what are you the Matchmaker Matchmaker now? _

Yep.

_Yet you want to break up Racheland James?_

I never said that.

_But you just thought it. _

Shut up.

_You don't have to be so rude…_

And here I was thinking I was normal.

* * *

I let the metaphorical devil and angel on my shoulders duke it out while I went to grab something to drink. I reached out to grab the last Essential vitamin water sitting on the table when another hand bumped mine. I looked up to see James. He looked nice, dressed in all black with a tie that matched Natalie's dress.

"Oh sorry." James said. "I didn't know you liked it too."

"Of course I do-vitamin water is a drumline tradition practically." I was smiling at the memory of the cases of vitamin water we went though last season. James grabbed a Defense bottle and tossed me the Essential.

"You don't have to, I can pick another kind." I said, holding out the bottle in my hand. James shook his head.

"I couldn't take away a lady's vitamin water." James said, smiling at me lightly. "Besides, I could never take one from a girl as lovely as you."

"You have a girlfriend James and she's my best friend. I'd watch it if I were you." I said. "By the way, where is she?"

"Bathroom." He said. I nodded. I knew how long Rachelcould take. Being the perfectionist that she is, she could take forever making sure she looked decent even though I thought she looked fine to begin with.

"So it is just me, or do these dances suck more than they used to?" James asked.

"I've never been a big fan of the Homecoming dance myself. Winter Ball is normally fun, and I've never been to Prom so I can't say what that's like." I said. "But you haven't been at a Sycamore dance since seventh grade." I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice but I couldn't.

"Sydney…I don't know what to say…I don't know why you were so upset over that…"

"Hm, maybe you were dancing with my least favorite person? Or maybe because you had been ignoring me for weeks beforehand! Or could it have been because I wanted to be in her place?!" I clapped a hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe what I had just said.

"Really? You would have wanted to be there with me instead of Abby?" James' voice was quiet. It was serious. I was thankful for the dimmed lights; I was sure my face could have matched my dress.

"Yes." My heart was forcing my brain to say what I wanted to say almost four years ago.

"'Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.'" James whispered. I gave an involuntary shutter and forgot who I was talking to.

"Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. Act one, scene five." I stated. "How did you know I love Shakespeare?"

"Facebook." James said simply.

"'Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy, if I could say how much.'" I replied. "Much Ado About Nothing. Act two, scene one."

"You're scary." James laughed, and he leaned down and kissed me.

He caught me off guard (what girl wouldn't be wooed by Shakespeare?!) and I found myself kissing him back. I realized what I was doing and broke the kiss.

"You're dating my best friend!" I cried, trying to keep calm.

"And I can't stay away from you. 'The course of true love never did run smooth.'" James said. His hands were still on my waist. I stood a few steps away from him.

"Will you stop quoting Shakespeare?!"

"But…you're the Juliet to my Romeo, the Beatrice to my Benedick!"

"Stop with the comparisons!" I said. "Oh what am I going to do?!"

"Well, Juliet never told her parents about Romeo…so maybe this can all be forgotten?"

_How could I forget that?_

"I don't think I'm quite Juliet…"

"Hey James! Syd!"

"But it'll do for now, come on Natalie's calling!" I grabbed his arm and ran to meet Rachelback in the Reject Corner.

* * *

_A/N-Reviews rock!! _


	30. I'm Not That Girl

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, DM Chica24, JacokNortovc, hazeleyedhottie, itsmariscul, Jollibee, dutchesscourtney, laceyshuina and Live.Love.Band for reviewing!_

_Just a reminder, there's a facebook group for this story and my other band works! Link is on my profile. A special thanks to everyone who has joined that. _

_I'm also a beta for the site-check out the profile for that too. _

_I hit two milestones with the last chapter-one good, one not so good. I broke 200 reviews which I was really proud of! Thank you all for sticking with me over the months and I'm so glad you like Sydney's story! Second, well, I had a visit from a Mr. Flame Rising. It's not a big deal, everyone's entitled to their own opinions. _

_I own nothing by my plot and characters. Lyrics are from the amazing musical Wicked._

* * *

Chapter Thirty-I'm Not That Girl

_Don't dream too far.  
Don't lose sight of who you are.  
Don't remember that rush of joy.  
He could be that boy,  
I'm not that girl._

_Ev'ry so often we long to steal,  
To the land of what-might-have-been.  
But that doesn't soften the ache we feel,  
When reality sets back in._

_I'm Not That Girl-__**Wicked**_

* * *

I had half a mind to punch him, really I did. The other half of my mind wanted me to jump on him. The remaining part of the dance was incredibly awkward for everyone. Missy and Hayden had gone from friends to a couple in no time flat. James and I were doing everything we possibly could to make it seem as if nothing had happened between us. Rachel was confused.

"I leave for five minutes and I missed everything!" She exclaimed when she saw Missy and Hayden together. "Now you'll be telling me that you and Sydney were making out or something while I was in the bathroom!" She laughed. I nearly died and felt James glance at me. I felt extremely guilty for kissing my best friend's boyfriend and I didn't know how or if I was going to tell her.

_Just…forget about it…it never happened…_

See there's the problem. It did happen.

_Time machine? _

Nope not happening here son.

_Oh boo. You suck. _

Arguing with yourself will get you nowhere.

_No it'll get you somewhere-a loony bin._

* * *

The night of Homecoming seemed to constantly be in the back of my mind at all times. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I worried constantly that Rachel would find out and I was terrified of what would happen to our friendship. Rachel was like a sister to me and I didn't want anything to come between us.

Who knew high school could be this confusing!

I was fully prepared to leave the dance behind me, but of course, the Fates weren't going to let me off that easy…

"We've got to stop meeting like this." James said in a husky voice Sunday afternoon. It was cool outside; we stood on my porch talking. I was in my favorite pair of jeans, my Anberlin hoodie and my awesome checkerboard socks. James was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Boys will never fail to amaze me.

"You came over here genius." I said, leaning against the door frame. "Anyway what happened to the good ol' days when people used to call or text or e-mail?! What's with this face to face jazz, home skillet?"

"Excuse me, did you just call me home skillet?"

"Yes."

"Um, why?"

"I was watching Juno before you showed up and interrupted. It was at my favorite part too…" I said, feigning sadness.

"Girls are weird…" He said to himself, shaking his head like a dog.

"Did you come here for something or were you just reminding me that I'm weird? Cause dude you're a little late on that one. I already know I'm weird." I said.

"No!" James cried. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I wanted to talk, okay? Not to make funny little remarks. To talk to you man to man"

"I should be insulted that you just called me a man, but I'm intrigued. And yes, I did just say I was intrigued by you. Be proud of yourself junior." I smiled, but my smile faded at the serious expression on James' face. I moved past him to let him into the house.

"Head on over to the family room. I'm all alone here. Mom's out working on a sale, Dad's got another event and my lovely siblings are out doing who knows what." I said.

"And your grandfather?" James asked. He looked more nervous now.

_What bomb is he going to drop on me this time?_

He's already dropped the L-bomb; maybe he'll be kinder and just blow you up with an atomic one.

_Fantastic…_

"He's out too; he's hanging out with some of his friends from his old jazz band." I said nervously. Why would he care?

_I don't know, maybe it's because he's a teenage boy and you're a teenage girl who's just invited him into your empty house and he's a BOY?!_

Didn't think of that one…

_Obviously. _

I watched James move down the hall and sighed inwardly. What was I getting myself into?

When I entered the family room, James was sitting on the couch looking slightly uncomfortable. I sat down on the other end of the couch and glanced at him. He was looking at me intensely. I could feel my face flush.

"You wanted to talk?" I reminded gently. That seemed to shake James out of his trance.

"Yeah…talk…" He sighed. "I'll put it bluntly Sydney, I still have feelings for you. That's the only reason why I can explain what I did at Homecoming. You were so gorgeous…even more so than normal I couldn't help myself! I had to kiss you; I'd explode if I didn't!"

"But what about your girlfriend?" I asked. "Less we forget she's my best friend!"

"I can't break up with her Sydney. I have feelings for her too…I can't explain it. They aren't like the feelings I have for you, but I still care about her so much. So much it hurts. Have you ever had that feeling Syd? You care so much that it hurts you." James said. He buried his head in his hands. I moved over on the couch and put my arm around him. I rubbed his shoulders as he continued speaking.

"I can't stand to see either of you hurt. I wanted to kill Sean when he ignored you. I wanted to kill Kyle when he broke up with Rachel. I can't stand it. I care about you both so much. I love you both and if I do anything stupid, I could loose both of you!" James' voice cracked on the last word. He seemed like he was about to cry. My heart wanted to go out to him, but my brain was thinking otherwise.

_Your best friend's boyfriend just admitted that he loved you both-you've got to put an end to this now or else there'll be nothing but trouble._

But I care about him too…

_Do you want to risk your friendship with Rachel?_

No. I could never do that.

_Then find a way to get him to fall for Rachel and forget about you. He'd be happier with her. _

I'm not that kind of girl who takes her best friend's boyfriend just because she likes him…Rachel needs James now. She's still hurting from Kyle and she just needs someone to hold onto for now. I sighed and I moved away from James. He looked up from me with a surprised look on his face. Apparently he had taken my moves of comfort to be moves of romance.

"Look James, you may think that you can get away with loving two girls, but I can't live with taking my best friend's boyfriend. I care about you too, but I can't hurt my best friend. She's like a sister to me James. I could never take you from her. I'm just not that girl." James looked at me as if I had slapped him. He stood up suddenly.

"Fine. If you won't understand then I'm leaving." He made for the door.

"Whoa I never said I didn't understand!" James ignored me. I stood in the hall and heard the front door slam.

"It's just…I'm not that girl…"

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_A/N-Short but necessary. Reviews are love!!_


	31. When I Ruled The World

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, Silvorfithrade, hazeleyedhottie, Somewei, Jollibee, Lily-Snape-568, itsmariscul, Kojin and JacokNortovc for reviewing!_

_Sorry for the wait…life got in the way once again._

_I also have a new marching band one shot out called Sticks. Check it out! Thanks to those who have already read and reviewed it. _

_All I own is the plot and characters._

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Chapter Thirty One-When I Ruled The World

_One minute I held the key  
Next the walls were closed on me  
And I discovered that my castles stand  
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand_

_I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing  
Roman cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field  
For some reason I can't explain  
Once you go there was never, never an honest word  
That was when I ruled the world_

_Viva La Vida-__**Coldplay**_

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The week of practice following Homecoming was nothing short of hell. James refused to cooperate with me. The band seemed to be aware of our constant fighting (you'd have to be deaf not to hear us) and they were beginning to choose sides. Most of the flutes and guard had aligned themselves with James. Figures. Abby had saddled up to James after she heard of our fight and told him how much of a pity it was. Pity my left foot…

My piccolo friends had joined my side, which lead to their alienation from the flutes. Most of the clarinets and saxes were split between us. I had the entire drumline at my disposal as well.

Worst of all though, I had lost Rachel.

She had gone and sided with her boyfriend. He told her that we had a fight and that I wouldn't listen when he tried to explain something to me. James hadn't told her half of the story. My blood boiled whenever I saw them together. It hurt to see them together. I didn't want to see them together!

I knew I was tearing Missy in two. She didn't want to lose either of us so she had taken to splitting her time between us at band and lunch. I went to sit with some of the people from my AP US class. I did homework or read at lunch nowadays. I didn't want the topic of conversation to slide to the fight.

* * *

The performance at the next football game was an embarrassment. The next day's show wasn't much better. I rallied the people I had on my side to try and make the show as bearable as possible, but I knew deep down that it wouldn't work. After all, we were only as good as our weakest player. All State Championships were in two weeks. We had to get this resolved or face humiliation in front of a thousand people. Our reputation from All States would bleed over into the indoor season…

This had to end. Now.

The Thursday practice before State Championships, I walked over to James' towel where his instrument sat during non-marching parts of drill practice. Angering me had lead to him being cut off by the rest of the trumpet section, therefore losing him a spot on the Trumpet Towel. He sat around with Rachel and Abby during breaks nowadays. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat to announce my presence. Both of the girls shot me a look that would have killed me in a second if looks could kill.

Maybe they are related after all.

"James, can I talk to you?" I asked. I hoped that he would say yes.

"Fine." He stood up and walked away from the girls; both were still glaring at me. We walked around the band as we quickly headed over to the wall. The wall was typically where my friends and I ate dinner…but now it was just an empty wall. I typically ate with the drumline nowadays.

"Look James…"

"No! Don't you 'look James' me! I'm not the bad guy!" James exploded.

_You've said two words and this whole plan is already going down the drain…_

"I just wanted to talk to you-is that such a big deal?"

"You wanted nothing to do with me when I said I still loved you." He said. He was bitter. Immensely bitter.

"That's because you were going out with my best friend! I won't be the other woman; especially the other woman in my best friend's relationship!" I cried, indignant.

_Okay Syd, calm down, we don't need you to lose your temper…_

Thankfully I had been blessed with my grandfather's temper. He very rarely lost his cool. And when he did…it wasn't pretty…

James brought me back to reality with a sharp tone of voice.

"Why don't you do Rachel and I a favor and stay out of our lives? We don't need you." With that, he turned on his heel and stormed back to the field.

For the first time in a very long time, I had been left speechless.

_So that's what it feels like to be on the other end of the snapping and storming away…_

The rest of practice and the following day of school went by like a blur. I didn't feel anything. I knew Missy and Sean were worried about me but I just brushed them off. I didn't want to talk about what James had said. I didn't want to admit how truthful he was.

_You thought that you could rule the world at the snap of your fingers…_

* * *

Everything leading up to States was giving the indication of a bad show. The rookies were nervous, the upperclassmen were divided and the staff had no clue what had happened to their band. Practice beforehand was shorter than normal; we had a three hour bus ride to States. I went to Dunkin' Donuts with the Line before leaving and grabbed some munchies for the long trip. I sat in the back of the bus (which had been dubbed the Battery's seats a long time ago) with Adrianna. The freshman looked smaller than normal-underneath her uniform she was wrapped in layers. Fall had officially kicked in. It was late October now. Adrianna had never been to a competition as big as this, so it was understandable that she was incredibly nervous.

I put my hand on her shoulder to take her attention away from her iPod. She looked up me. She looked scared out of her wits.

"Look…I wish I had something inspiring and witty to say to you, but honestly I don't. Pretty much anything would be hypocritical at this point of my life. Just remember what you've done in the past; what this band has done in the past. And we'll always have next year." I tried a small smile but it wouldn't come. Adrianna looked over at me.

"Who are you?" She asked, staring me down.

"What?"

"I asked who you are, because the Sydney Roberson I know wouldn't let anything come between her and the band. I may just be a freshman, but I know some things. You aren't yourself. So what if a boy is dumb? Nearly all boys are dumb. The ones that aren't are fictional." She took a deep breath as she took in what she said. This time, I could give her a genuine smile.

"You're alright kid. You've changed from the timid girl from the summer."

Adrianna smiled and looked pleased with herself. At least now I could feel happy about something.

The performance, on the other hand, zapped any good feelings from me. It was mediocre, and that was being nice about it. I boarded the bus and changed quickly into my street clothes. I stuck close to the drumline that night as I watched the remaining bands go on. I was finally comfortable, being around the Line again. The Battery was a second home to me. I could probably ask the Battery members for a kidney and nearly all would say 'Which one?' That's how tight we were. Missy even hung with us too, holding Hayden's hand discreetly. I didn't know how things were going to be come Indoor. All I knew was that I needed Indoor badly.

Coolidge dismissed us without a word once we arrived back at the school. I honestly had never seen him looking so mad in my three years with the band. Megan placed the small trophy behind the larger ones. Adrianna saw her.

"No Megan." Megan turned around and was surprised to see that a freshman was talking to her.

"Leave it out so everyone can see it. So everyone can see what happens when you let personal problems bleed over into band and tear it apart." The band room was silent. I doubted that most of the members of the band knew she could speak before this. Her voice was calm and collected and it made me feel disgusted with myself. I looked up to see James staring straight at her. Rachel was staring at the clarinet case in her lap. Abby looked like she didn't care. Megan took the last place trophy and set it on the conductor's stand in the front of the room.

When Megan finally spoke, her voice stung. "I hope you all listened to her. And I hope you're all proud. Band dismissed."

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_A/N-Like it? Hate it? I loved writing this chapter. The lavender box is calling, it's for you!_


	32. Yesterday

_A/N- Thanks to __Jollibee__, __Kojin__, __JacokNortovc__, __Lily-Snape-568__, __iDrummerGirl__, __projectfreq91__, __Somewei__, itsmariscul, __Hottie12345k and __hazeleyedhottie__ for reviewing!_

_REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT!! Rachel is Natalie. I changed the name for personal reasons. I went back through out the entire story and changed the Natalie's to Rachel's. It was fun, let me tell you…_

_This will probably also be my last update for a couple weeks…I'm going to DC for a week and I want to update some of my other work first. Thanks for the understanding!_

_MCR owns the lyrics. _

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Chapter Thirty Two-Yesterday

_And after all this time that you still owe  
You're still the good-for-nothing I don't know  
So take your gloves and get out  
Better get out  
While you can_

_When you go  
Would you even turn to say  
"I don't love you  
Like I did  
Yesterday"_

_I Don't Love You-__**My Chemical Romance**_

* * *

After the incident in the band room after the disaster that was States, the tear in the band only seemed to worsen. All-States were this weekend and this band could not survive another day like this. As if it could be any worse. The amount of shame I felt for causing this was only parallel to the guilt I'd been feeling. Although it killed me inside, I knew what I had to do. I had tried talking to James last week. Now it was time to go to Rachel and come clean about everything.

I decided in the car ride to school Monday morning that I was going to tell her in wind ensemble. I was nervous all through the class. She wouldn't look at me although I tried to catch her eye several times. I ran through what I was going to say to her in my head. I was distracted by it during the entire class.

Rachel was my best friend and I was about to tell her that I had kissed him.

_Well technically he kissed you first…_

Let's just hope Rachel feels the same way.

* * *

I managed to corner her in the band room lockers after wind ensemble. James and Abby weren't around her for once so it seemed as if this would be my chance. I took a deep breath and began.

"Look Rachel, I know you aren't really talking to me right now but there's something I really have to tell you. At Homecoming James kissed me. It was out of nowhere and I totally hate myself for it but I kissed him back. I know it's no excuse but I didn't know what was happening. Once I got some sense back and realized what I was doing I stopped but it was too late.

The day after the dance James came over to my house. He told me how he cared for both of us and how he didn't want either of us to get hurt. He also wanted me to be the other woman in your relationship. I know you probably are thinking that I'm crazy and jealous and whatnot but it's true. Rache, I told him I wouldn't. When I told him I wouldn't help him cheat, he got mad. Like really mad. Now I don't know what he told you about what happened or if he told you anything but you've got to believe me; I didn't want this to happen." I closed my eyes and exhaled. When I opened my eyes again I saw that Rachel had turned away from me for a moment as she put away her clarinet.

My heart sunk. There was no way that she'd ever believe me or want to be seen in the same room as me for the rest of our lives.

"Sydney, you were my best friend. And it took a lot of balls to tell me what you just did." Rachel turned around. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. "And I love you so much Syd. You're my sister. I missed you so much."

And before I could even register my shock, Rachel had tackled me in a bear hug. We were laughing like fools when James and Abby walked into the closet. The look of disgust on Abby's face only made me laugh harder. Rachel however, wiped the smile from her face as she walked over to James. She snuggled herself into his shoulder but not before giving me a small wink.

"Hey babe." She said to him. James smiled at her and shot me an angry look.

"Hey. What were you doing back here with her?" He spat out the last word as if it was an unpleasant piece of food.

"Oh, we were just talking." Rachel said sweetly. Too sweetly. For a moment, James looked panicked. He looked at me and then looked back at his girlfriend who was looking at him with a hard gleam in her eyes.

"Guess what?" She asked him innocently. That simple question seemed to throw his attention from me to Rachel.

"Yeah?"

"We're over." Rachel said simply, pulling herself away from James. He looked at her incredulously.

"What?!" He cried.

"Yeah James. We're done. Finished. Over." Rachel looked triumphant. James looked confused.

"But…why?" He asked. Then he looked up from her and saw me.

"You." James said simply. He didn't sound angry, rather, he sounded hurt.

"Her. She's my best friend. We've both done some pretty stupid things over the last few weeks and I'm willing to forgive her if she'll forgive me." Rachel looked over at me and smiled. I returned the gesture weakly. For some reason, the look on James' face pained me. He looked like a lost puppy.

I glanced at Rachel and headed over to her and we walked out of the locker area arm in arm for the first time in weeks. While I couldn't get the image of James out of my head, I was still elated to have Rachel back. My best friend. Missy would freak out. She'd probably smack us both upside the head for taking so long, but she'd be happy all the same. We'd have to go out one day and do something as a group. I felt bad for pulling Missy in two and I knew Rachel felt the same way. I also just wanted to be with my friends for a day and not have to worry about other things and just bask in the glory of my reacquired friendship.

* * *

Practices for marching band were getting better. The band, although still not playing to their full capabilities, was by far better than the band that had showed up at States. After all, there were still a few people who hadn't been won back yet. Still, I loved it. My classes were going well, I had Rachel back and it would be a matter of weeks until indoor started.

The week leading up to All-States seemed to pass slowly. I spent it wrapped up in an A.P. US project; only leaving my computer to go to band practice. The audition music for indoor had been handed out. My hand hesitated only a second before I picked up the tenor warm ups. I felt slightly like I was betraying my bass drum, but I quickly pushed the thought out of my head. I wanted to be on tenors since my freshman year. I played on the bass line my first two years in drumline so I could master playing and crabbing at the same time. And I did love my bass. My wrists would start to gain the familiar yet comforting soreness from playing. Hayden was teaching Missy all the intricacies of snare drumming and I saw James grab an audition paper. Brushing it off, I went back to my own life.

The only downer in my week was James. He didn't say anything to me; to be honest; I don't think he said a word to anyone. He was uncharacteristically shy and reserved. James barely looked up anymore. The few times he looked me in the eyes I could see the pain and sadness. I tried not to look, but the pale blue of his eyes were almost intoxicating.

Perhaps if he said something to me it would be better. His stupid silence and stupid boy moods weren't helping the situation. He was acting like he was the only one who was hurt in all this. James was acting selfish; like a good for nothing jerk. I gave a small sigh as I got ready on the Friday morning before All-States. As was tradition, the band was dressed up. I was wearing a pair of grey pants and a white Japanese style blouse. I wore my simple black flats that I wore for jazz band. If I tripped, it wouldn't be the shoes' fault. I made sure I had everything for the game and for the short practice beforehand so I didn't have a heart attack when I realized I forgot something when I got to school. Turning on my car radio, I let the music sooth me. Music was pretty good at doing that for me. It always had a way of making me feel whole. And right now, I really needed that.

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_A/N-So not my favorite ending, but I liked it enough. Hope you guys liked it! The various colored review box wants you to push it!!_


	33. Say What You Need To Say

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A/N-Thanks to Kojin, Jollibee, Wicked Winter, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, JacokNortovc and Lily-Snape-568 for reviewing!  
Check the profile for a poll. Look for the group on facebook.

_And for the reviewer who said that I didn't let the reviewers know about the switch of names, I'm pretty sure I wrote a bolded lettered note about that the in the AN from the last chapter. I mentioned the reason on my facebook group for the story. )_

_I don't own the lyrics unfortunally…_

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Chapter Thirty Three-Say What You Need To Say

_Have no fear for giving in.  
Have no fear for giving over.  
You better know that in the end.  
It's better to say too much,  
Then never to say what you need to say again._

_Even if your hands are shaking,  
And your faith is broken,  
Even as the eyes are closing,  
Do it with a heart wide open... wide..._

_Say-__**John Mayer **_

* * *

I woke up early the morning of Championships so I could meet the brass for breakfast. It was tradition that the morning before Championships the entire section would get together and eat. It was always a fun time, filled with reminiscing, jokes and pancakes.

I was vaguely aware of myself when I dressed in Under Armour and Sycamore Falls sweats. It felt strange-I felt as if somehow, this was my last Championships. It was preposterous. I still had next year…but I couldn't shake the foreboding feeling from my gut. Labeling it as minor nerves, I checked my bag to make sure I had every piece of my uniform right down to the braid that encircled my right arm. When I was sure I had everything I tossed the bag into the trunk of my car and grabbed Walt and tucked him securely into the back seat.

From the corner of my eye I could see James getting ready in his driveway. His ancient Ford was a bright blue eyesore. I waited for him to pull out before I stuck the key in and turned. I followed him though town to get to the buffet, slightly surprised that he was even going at all. The brass section had dropped most of their hostilities towards him but not all had forgiven him for his Benedict Arnold type actions.

* * *

I kept my eyes on the road and the car in front of me. I slowed to a stop at a yellow light and watched James keep on going.

_Stupid boys and their driving…always thinking that they're the only ones on the road…_

James thought he could make it through the intersection before the light changed.

A large SUV barreled through thinking the same thing.

There was a screech, a loud crunch and then dead silence. James' car was jackknifed up against a large boulder meant to protect the house on the corner from just this sort of thing.

For a second, I couldn't move. I was just frozen. Once I got myself together I moved my car to the side of the road, parking and throwing on my hazard lights and whipping out my cell phone. I called 911, I called Brian and I called Coolidge. I remained as calm as I could while I remembered my lifeguard training. The man from the SUV was unhurt but I hadn't seen James. The man was large and he was bawling like a baby. I immediately went to him and tried to calm him down.

"Sir you have to relax. My friend will be fine." I was lying through my teeth-for all I knew James could be dead. Or severely brain damaged. I pushed those thoughts out of my head. I could smell blood and rubber. I had to stay calm. Loosing my cool would not help the situtation at all.

"He was your friend?" He began crying harder.

_Way to go Sydney, now you have a full grown man sobbing uncontrollably and no one else around. _

"He's fine, he's pretty resilient." I said, trying anything to get him to calm down. I finally convinced the guy to go sit on the corner and wait for help to arrive. I sucked down a deep breath and carefully walked over to the mangled Ford. I held in a scream when I saw James, bloody and bruised, slumped over the steering wheel. The worst part-he wasn't moving.

My first instinct was to move him but I knew that could do more damage. My head reeling, I sat down on the curb and rested my head in my hands and listened to the strained sound of sirens growing ever louder.

My cell phone rang, breaking my silence. I slid it out of my pocket and flipped it open.

"Yeah?"

"Sydney?"

"Coolidge?"

"What's going on? I could barely understand you." The band director sounded worried. I filled him in on what had happened, trying to keep my voice steady. When I stopped, he swore.

"Have the cops gotten there yet?"

"Yeah they got here a few minutes ago. What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know Sydney. I don't know." I sat in silence. I watched as the first medics rushed over to James' crippled car. Another ambulance arrived and swept away the still hysterical man.

"The band doesn't know. I told Brian not to tell the section, but they're going to find out when we don't show up."

"Sydney…I think we're going to have to pull ourselves out of the show." Coolidge's voice cracked on the other end of the line. "There's no way that this band could perform while one of its own is in critical condition."

I nodded, fighting the lump in my throat. I watched as a fireman with an ax cut away the door of the car.

"I think we have to." I said. "Who's going to break the news?"

"I'll do it…I can't ask that of Megan or any of the seniors." He sighed. "When the band gets here I will tell them. You're going to the hospital. I have a feeling that whatever negativities surrounding James in this band are going to be quickly forgotten when they find out where he is."

"Yes sir."

"I'll let you go…I have to find out what to say to these kids…"

"Good luck." I said.

"And to you." I closed the phone and saw the fireman lift James out of the car. He looked like a rag doll…a rag doll that had lost a game of tug of war. I ran over to the nearest cop.

"Where are they taking him?!" I demanded. The cop looked down at me, taking in my Sycamore attire.

"Mercy Suburban." He said before asking me for a statement. I gave the cop my statement as a witness and got in my car and followed the ambulance.

* * *

In the waiting room, I called James' mother. She was terrified for her oldest son but she managed to keep her cool and I was incredibly grateful for it. I don't know how I could have handled an upset mother on top of everything that had happened today. I glanced down at my cell phone. It was barely nine. How could a day start this bad? The band wouldn't know about what had happened until ten at the earliest. The first batch of people wouldn't be here until around ten thirty. So for the time, I sat and I waited. I curled myself into a ball and waited for any scrap of information to float by.

I was unaware of time. I was unaware of myself. Did I even exist anymore? Or was I blended into the off white of the waiting room? People were dying and I was completely useless…

Ten o'clock. A cute young doctor came out. My head perked up, like a dog looking for a treat.

"Family or friends of James C. Daly?" I got up as quickly as I could. I had been curled up in the same position for over an hour. My body screamed in protest of movement but I hurried over to the doctor.

"I'm his…friend." I said. Well, friend was a stretch, but I was terrified. James may have made mistakes in the past but that didn't mean I wanted him to die.

"He's got a broken ankle and two broken ribs. We think he has a concussion and he has several lacerations to his body. We've doing scans on his brain and body to make sure he doesn't have any internal bleeding."

_Uh, hey McDreamy? You wanna tell us what we really want to know?_

"Is he going to die?" I asked bluntly. McDreamy looked at me as if no one had ever been that direct about someone dying before.

"It's still a little early…we aren't done with all our tests yet. And there's also the fact that he's still unconscious."

_Great…thank you Captain McDreamy._

When the band kids began streaming into the waiting room, the hospital staff knew that they couldn't keep us in the dark forever. When parents started arriving then they started to give us updates. When James' mother arrived we parted like the Rea Sea and watched as Mrs. Daly forced her way to the desk and demanded to see her son. I told her and the band what I knew.

Megan pulled me aside and told me quietly and with tears in her eyes that we forfeited the show. North York would walk away this year with the first place trophy uncontested.

I didn't care however. I honestly didn't care.

What had happened to me?

* * *

Three hours later, James was listed in stable condition and was allowed visitors. He had woken up but the doctors told him that he had to stay for a while and he had to be sure to get a lot of rest. He was sleeping when I came into see him. He looked awful yet peaceful. The excess blood had been wiped off and all that was left were bandages and stitches. I sat down awkwardly on the chair next to the bed and looked at him for a minute.

"I don't know if you can hear me…but I saw everything. It was pretty horrifying watching it happen. Man, your insurance is going to be through the roof!" I chuckled quietly.

"I'm just glad you're still here-it looked pretty bad at the scene." I whispered, not wanting to wake him.

"I'm sorry for anything you still blame me for. I hope you get better soon so we can all get back to normal." I took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. I was surprised to receive a return squeeze.

"I'm just…sorry…" A single tear fell as I watched over James as he slept on.

* * *

_A/N-So I leave for a week and I come back with a vengeance…I know I'm so evil. Hope you all liked it! Drop a line, I love feedback!_


	34. Synchronicity

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A/N-Thanks go to guardgirl414, Jollibee, dutchesscourtney, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, Lily-Snape568, JacokNortovc, Dpbuckeye, Silvorfithrade (2x!) and hazeleyedhottie for reviewing.

_Sorry for the wait…I have band camp and AP homework and I have to learn our entire show faster than everyone because I just was moved up to lead and our first performance is this week. So sorry for the short filler chapter. _

_New poll on the profile…please go vote!! Check out the facebook while you're there._

_Do own the characters, do not own the lyrics. _

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Chapter Thirty Four-Synchronicity

_A connecting principle,  
Linked to the invisible  
Almost imperceptible  
Something inexpressible.  
Science insusceptible  
Logic so inflexible  
Causally connectable  
Yet nothing is invincible_

_Synchronicity I-**The Police**_

Sycamore's marching band season ended at James' accident. The holiday parade was coming up, but he wasn't going to be marching. His broken ankle would make it impossible to march for at least six weeks. James was in the hospital for a week after the accident and was going to be on crutches until Christmas. The conclusion of band left many people, especially the seniors, dazed. I was still having trouble with the fact that it was over.

I had two weeks of down time until drumline started. After the debacle of this season I couldn't wait for indoor. Marching band and indoor were very different things. The instructors were far more relaxed around us but they also expected a lot more from us. We may have had more practice in marching band but indoor was more fast paced and more hard core.

The Sycamore Falls Mirage Indoor Drumline had a reputation in the circuit. Our line, come Wildwood, would be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

And that's why, come the first meeting, I was running from my car to the band room to get there. Sure, marching band was great but drumline was exhilarating.

I grabbed a seat with Missy and Hayden and chatted excitedly about the upcoming season. Missy was going to audition for snare along with Hayden. I had my eye on a spot in the tenor section. The only returning tenor player was Noah so I felt I had a chance. I had been practicing the warm ups since October and I could play them at a decent speed. I noticed James hobble into the room. He looked sad almost. I was guessing it was because he couldn't audition on snare like he wanted to. Apparently he was on the snare line at his old school's drumline. Now, because of his broken ankle he had to be in the pit. We started marching as soon as auditions were done in the beginning of December. He wouldn't be better in time.

If I were him, I'd be just as upset.

The drumline's illustrious instructor, Perry (or, as Missy and I liked to call him, Perry Beary the Drumline Fairy) came out of the office to loud applause from the vets. The rookies of the line, Adrianna included, looked confused. The non-line members had no idea what they were getting into with Perry.

As the Great Pere Bear (another one of mine and Missy's nicknames) took the podium, I saw the pit genius Steve emerge from the back offices with his girlfriend and our marching tech Ang.

"Okay…everyone here?" Perry asked. The vets shrugged.

"How would we know?" Asked Hayden.

"I don't know. But since you decided to answer back you can hand out the paper work." Perry smiled evilly and handed Hayden a large stack of papers. Hayden groaned and pretended to drop them.

"Hey if you drop them I'm not picking them up!" Perry said, leaning over to poke Hayden with his drumsticks. I leaned back in my chair and smiled. How I had missed indoor.

Perry talked about the expectations of indoor and the type of schedule we had. Although there weren't any Friday practices like in marching band, Saturday practices were longer and more intense. He talked a little about Wildwood which got all the vets pumped up. At the end of the practice Perry popped on our Wildwood performance from last season. Watching the boys of last year's bassline do the visuals brought tears of laughter to my eyes. I only wish I brought my camera.

* * *

In addition to the beginning of indoor, the winter concert was also on the near horizon. Burke had been going crazy making sure his concert bands were ready for the performance. The wind ensemble received the easy concert band music so we could play with them at the concert. Jazz band was spent practicing some of the competition tunes and the mandatory holiday-ish piece.

"Yeah I know it's annoying but last year the band parents had a conniption because we didn't play anything for dear ol' Father Christmas." Coolidge said, handing out the parts for God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. It was pretty easy but a distraction from the more important competition pieces.

My time had been consumed by studying and practicing. My midterms for my semester courses, namely Advanced Geometry were coming up and I was spending a lot of time in review for that. Math had never been my favorite.

I watched James in band as he sat in his chair unable to play. His doctor said it would be a good idea for him to take it easy for the next month or so. In all honesty, I really did feel bad for him. It was hard to feel angry towards someone when you had seen them almost die. I heard from Rachel that James wouldn't talk to anyone about his accident. He was quiet and withdrawn; ignoring Abby when she flirted and keeping his head down in band.

* * *

November faded into December and the school was quickly filled to the max with decorations. I walked the red and green band hall on the first Saturday of the month to get to drumline early. My stomach was having fun tying itself into knots and for good reason-today was the day where Perry announced the final list for the Battery. I felt confident in my tenor playing but I was worried nonetheless.

Of course, Perry waited until the end of practice to announce the final list. James would be in the pit playing xylophone. He didn't look happy but at least he didn't look as miserable as he normally did.

"Alright Battery this year. Basses are Alex, Jenny, Brent, Aaron and Nate. Snares are Missy, Hayden and Keith. Tenors are Noah and Sydney. Last but not least, our show. The staff and I decided on a show with music by the Police. We don't have a formal name for it yet but we've got the first few tunes complete so we can start learning them next practice. Battery take your drums home and start practicing. Do a Mirage and get out of here." Elated, I drifted over to the circle that had formed.

"Congrats guys. We're a drumline now. This season will be long and it'll be hard but I can guarantee when we're warming up on the beach in Wildwood there will be no where else you'll want to be. Sam?" Noah said, looking to the pit captain.

"Ditto on what Noah said. This season is going to be awesome. Alright…'Mirage' on three. One, two, three!"

"MIRAGE!" The veterans bellowed. The rookies looked a little shell shocked. I happily walked over to the tenors-my tenors-and hoisted the case up and grabbed a stand and walked slowly out to my car.

* * *

_A/N-Next chapter drumline and jazz band really start kicking in. I'm hoping to post the next one before the start of school. Please review!!_


	35. Showtime

_A/N-Thanks to JacokNortovc, guardgirl414, projectfreq91, Jollibee, Hottie12345k, bri835 (3x!!) and Lily-Snape-568 for reviewing! _

_As promised, this is far more exciting than the last chapter :) Don't forget to check the facebook and the profile for a new poll! I have a feeling that this will be the last chapter for a while, due to band, APs and computer troubles. However, my summer has been extended by a strike so I will be able to write more. _

_Don't own the lyrics. _

* * *

Chapter Thirty Five-Showtime

_You're a door without a key, a field without a fence,  
__You've made a holy fool of me and I've thanked you ever since.  
__If she comes circling back we'll end where we'd begun  
__Like two pennies on the train track the train crushed into one,  
__Or if I'm a crown without a king, if I'm a broken open seed,  
__If I come without a thing then I come with all I need.  
__No boat out in the blue, no place to rest your head.  
__The trap I set for you seems to have caught my leg instead!_

_In A Sweater Poorly Knit-__**MewithoutYou**_

* * *

My winter break was spent practicing and went far too quickly for my taste. Mirage would present 'Synchronicity' for the first time in the third week of January. Noah and Perry coached me on the proper way to play, march and carry my tenors. I was hitting the Y several days a week to try and strengthen myself so I wouldn't collapse under the fifty pound weight bouncing off my hips.

When I wasn't lifting weights or my drums I was practicing for jazz band. I knew from last year in jazz band that Coolidge got really intense around a month before our first show. Although we weren't slated to compete until the middle of February I would not be surprised if Coolidge decided that we'd go into competition two weeks earlier than scheduled. It had happened before, and it helped us get a better placement come Championships. So come the first week back, I simply nodded when Coolidge announced that our first show would be the last Friday night in January.

In addition to jazz band and drumline being in full swing, I had first semester finals to worry about. The week before the first drumline competition had been dubbed as finals week at Sycamore, causing frenzy in the halls. The three days set aside for finals were a good break for some if your finals happened to be on the same day. I only had to come in one day-math and science finals were on the same day. My finals were on the first day of testing so I could relax by lunch time that Monday. I still had to review for the AP exams in May, which meant study sessions for Chem. throughout the rest of the year. I was happy about my other three APs being all year or in the second semester.

* * *

I spent one of my days off with Missy and Rachel in a much needed get together. While Missy and I were in drumline, Rachel was holding down a supporting lead role in the school musical. The drumline and the musical never had practice at the same time (the choir teacher and musical director always complained that they could hear us practicing and that it was disrupting) so it was rare for us to see Rachel outside of school. We happily piled into Missy's car and drove to the mall to catch a movie and do some window shopping.

It seemed as if everyone who was not in a classroom taking an exam was at the mall that day. After chatting with Adrianna and a few of her friends, I saw Abby and her friends sitting outside the Saladworks. I was surprised to see that Abby looked…upset. I noticed that Laura and Kaitlyn, another girl from the guard, were trying to comfort her but to no avail. The girl looked crushed. If she didn't hate me so much maybe I'd feel sorry for her.

"What was with her?" I asked the girls when we were out of earshot. While I had never been on the receiving end of an upset guard girl, I had been in indoor when one of the boys dumped his guard girlfriend. It was not pretty.

"Didn't you hear? Christian broke up with her yesterday." Rachel said.

"I wasn't at school. That's odd. They were attached at the hip!" I said, pausing at the bookstore. The three of us went inside and browsed.

"Why'd they break up?" Missy asked Rachel.

"Something about wanting to see other people and how he wanted to be with someone who wasn't making eyes at other boys all the time."

"Ouch." I said. "She did flirt with James all the time."

"And like half the band…" Missy said, looking at me.

"Really?" I said, half paying attention to the conversation. "I didn't notice."

Missy shot a look at Rachel who in turn raised her eyebrows at me. I glanced up from the book I was reading to catch their expressions. My eyes widened in horror.

"No. Oh no no no no. I know what you're thinking and no!" I cried. Some old lady in the home and garden section glared at me over her shoulder. I lowered my voice. "How could you two think that!?" I hissed.

"Well, Abby flirts with any boy with a pulse and yet you've only noticed that she flirts with James. Isn't a little obvious?" Rachel said, her voice calm and soothing, like one you would use with a confused toddler. Missy nodded.

"It would make sense that you would like him, after all you did like him…"

"In seventh grade!" I said angrily. I grabbed Rachel and Missy and went to pay for my book. "Listen," I said when we were out of the store. "I don't like him. He doesn't like me. That ship has sailed. It's not possible." My friends simply smiled at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, let's hit up Coldstone while we're here."

* * *

I stood in a pair of rolled up jeans and my Mirage shirt outside the gym. My tenors and harness were sitting innocently against the wall. They were mocking me. They looked light…but now, as I waited for the announcement to go on, I could feel their weight in my stomach. I turned around and squeezed my way into the Mirage circle that was going on and began to sway along with the rest of the group. I didn't notice that I had put myself in between Missy and James. His arm rested lightly on my back.

Noah started. "Today is the first time we will be judged as a group. Today is the first first show for some of you. Today is the last first show for some of you. We are not individuals anymore. We are Mirage indoor drumline. We're a unit, a team, an ensemble. We represent more than the music department. We represent more than the school. We represent ourselves as an ensemble. Are we going to be perfect? No. Are we going to put on a show for these people? Absolutely. Sam? You got anything?"

"Nope. You covered it." The junior pit captain replied.

"Mini Mirage on three. One, two, three!"

"Mirage!" The circle whispered. The crowd cheered as the drumline ahead of us finished their show. Perry poked his head out from around the corner.

"Pit! Get your stuff and start wheeling in. I'll be in front of you with the mat. Battery, get your drums on. Drop them and your shoes on the side and get ready to pull the mat out." I slipped my harness on and lifted the drums on and walked into the gym behind Noah. The Pit was about halfway in and Perry was waiting for us to pull the mat so they could wheel their stuff on.

I took my drums off and ran to my corner of the mat. The battery was an even split this year. Ten marchers altogether and five of them were female. It was a new record for us. Three girls took mine and Missy's places as the feminine part of the bassline. The girls would hold down the mat while the boys pulled it out to the other side of the court.

"Go!" Perry said from the front, waving us on. The boys quickly pulled out the mat and it was adjusted to the center and pulled to get rid of air pockets. The battery ran to put their drums back on and pulled out sticks so we could click sticks before we got to our opening set. Perry stood near our drums.

"Don't suck, don't suck, don't suck, and don't fall!" He said to us, looking at me as he said the last bit. I stuck my tounge out at him as as I grabbed my drums. Perry was the epitome of bluntness.

"The Sycamore Falls Mirage indoor drumline proudly presents this year's show entitled 'Synchronicity'. The music of the band The Police comes alive on the floor…"

I immediately went to Missy and slammed my sticks into hers twice and hit a shot of the rim of her snare. Adrianna was my next clicker. Bass three looked excited and nervous at the same time. I shot her a comforting smile before hitting off the rest of the battery and going to my dot.

"Are the judges ready?" The announcer asked.

"They are. Mirage, are you ready?" Noah and I, as the first people to play and in the center of the form, did an about face from our position facing back and gave a four count dut and brought the Line to attention.

"You may take the floor in competition. Good luck!"

The pit started off our first number, 'King of Pain'. Noah and I had a tenor solo during the slow part of the song. I took a deep breath and let the music I knew so well take me away.

* * *

I grinned broadly as I helped refold the mat and ran out of the gym barefoot with my shoes in my hand and my drums bouncing around on the harness. In an empty hallway, the battery paused to put on shoes and socks before going out into the cold to put away our drums. The show had been good. It had been really good. I could see that Perry was pleased. I couldn't keep the stupid grin off my face as Missy and Hayden tackled me in a hug. The three of us almost fell to the cool linoleum floor. I disentangled myself and grabbed my tenors. I could see James pulling his vibe outside. He wasn't talking to anyone. As if in a trance, I walked over to him.

"James?" I said hesitantly. He turned around. I must have been quite a sight, what with my hair falling out my ponytail and drums as big as I was on my chest.

"Good job today." I told him, absently playing with the one of the drumsticks in the Vic Firth pouch. He stared at me.

_Well this is incredibly awkward._

"You too." James said quietly, turning back to face his vibraphone. I put a hand on the inside of the center drum and lifted up, flipping the drums up to face me before heading out into the cold to quickly repack my drums and put on my Mirage jacket.

* * *

The following week passed quickly. The first week of the second semester always seemed to go faster than normal; it was like the first week of school all over again. Very little was accomplished. The jazz band met three times that week and we ran our competition numbers over and over until the brass players thought their lips would fall off and the rhythm and sax sections thought their wrists and fingers would fall off. Coolidge would not be satisfied until we were perfect, or at least presentable to the general public. Much like the drumline, the jazz band was always a tough competitor to go against.

The last Friday night in January found me in a black gown I had found last year. The satin dress had thin spaghetti straps and was floor length. It was simple and elegant. Under the dress I wore black flats so I wouldn't trip over heels going up to solo. With my straight brown hair sitting at my shoulders I felt like a girl in my jazz band dress. Around my neck I wore my grandmother's necklace; a choker of beads of Austrian crystal. Grandpop gave it to me before my first show in jazz band last year, telling me that my grandmother always thought it to be lucky and wore it to every concert she played in. When the jazz band took straight Superiors at the show I became convinced of its lucky powers.

With Missy sitting with Hayden on the bus, I had officially lost my seat buddy. I was going to sit by myself and enjoy the company of my iPod until someone plopped down next to me. I looked up and was surprised to see Christian sitting there.

_What does he want?_

Maybe he wants to apologize; maybe he's seen the error of his ways…

_Yeah right…I'm over him. He's not worth my time. _

"Mind if I sit here?" He asked.

"Well seeing as you're already sitting I guess not." I replied, scrolling through my iPod to find something to watch. I settled on '300'. Christian leaned over my shoulder and tried to watch. I paused the movie and turned to him, annoyed.

"Do you mind?" I asked.

"Oh, sorry." Christian said sheepishly.

A few minutes later, I noticed that he was staring at me.

"Do I have something on my face or something?" I asked, making a show of feeling my cheek. This was really getting on my nerves.

"No, nothing…."

Ten minutes later he was trying to smell my hair. Why else would his face be resting on my head?

"That's it I'm moving!" I grabbed my bag and made to stand up.

"Wait!" He said, grabbing my wrist. I looked at him.

"What now?" I said, sitting back down and pulling my arm away from him.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't like you like that?" _Duh…_

"Abby said you did." Christian stated. _Of course she would._

"Well I don't, so can you move now?" When he didn't move, I stood up and pushed my way past him.

Other than the Christian incident (which was really weird…) I felt the show went well. There were a few rough patches in some spots, but that was to be expected. My solos went fairly well. I knew what I needed to work on as well as everyone else did. I waited with Missy and Hayden for awards. Hayden was mad when the rhythm section didn't win best section. The poor rhythm section had never gone home with its own little trophy. Of course, Hayden thought that this year was their year. The Sycamore Saxes yelled excitedly when we were called for best Saxes. I knew Missy would never let me forget that her section got one and mine didn't. I rolled my eyes as my best friend jumped around like a moron in her black dress.

"Now for best soloist awards. If your name is called please come up to receive your award." I was slightly nervous now; it wasn't very often that a Sycamore soloist received the coveted award. And I'm not going to lie-I really wanted one. Missy grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly for luck. She knew how badly I wanted to win.

"For best trumpet solo, from Sycamore Falls High School, Sydney Roberson!" I let out the huge breath of air that I didn't realize I was holding and stood up. Missy jumped up and started freaking out as well as the rest of the jazz band. Brian practically picked me up (he was a foot taller than me and had at least fifty pounds on me so it wasn't hard for him) and dropped me into the aisle. I walked gracefully up to the stage and concentrated on not falling up the stairs. I got my little plaque and stood with the members on retreat, who of course, were still cheering for me. It was a little-a lot-embarrassing but I didn't mind. My hands were shaking from getting it. I looked out over the crowd and saw the judges applauding as well.

_They like me! They really like me!_

They really do…I thought, smiling. They really do.

* * *

_A/N-So that was longer than normal, but you guys deserved it after the filler of last chapter. Reviews are always welcomed and loved!_


	36. Coincidence

_A/N-Thanks go to guardgirl414, Hottie12345k, projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Jollibee, Jestry and hazeleyedhottie for reviewing the last chapter!_

_New poll on profile! It's important that you vote...it has to do with a possible sequel to this story! _

_Lucky for you guys that I still don't have school. I've been writing like a fiend. It's keeping me sane here. _

_Lyrics are not mine. _

* * *

Chapter Thirty Six-Coincidence...

_You've got everything going for you,  
So I'll go for you with everything that I've got.  
Right here, the best days of our lives.  
Is this coincidence or a sign?  
Is there anything I missed?  
Is there anything I missed?  
Tell me if I'm wrong, but why would we change a thing?_

_After the Last Midtown Show-**The Academy Is...**_

* * *

It became apparent to me that Christian would not take no for an answer. I stopped answering his texts and began a campaign of silence.

"If this had happened six months ago you'd be over the moon." Rachel said at lunch the Monday after the jazz show. I had just finished filling her in on all the details of the night and I knew that she was right.

"I can't believe I ever liked him." I took a bite out of my apple. "What was I thinking?"

"Mosquito at twelve o'clock!" Missy hissed. Mosquito was our clever new codename for the boy who was becoming very pest like. I dove into my back pack to try and hide. No luck.

"Hey Sydney, what are you doing hiding that pretty face of yours from the world?" I pulled myself out of the bag clutching my AP US book. It would make a good shield or a decent weapon if need be.

"There are some people that she doesn't want leering at it." Rachel snapped. I had to suppress a smile. Classic Rachel. Just say no to stalkers!

The insult went right over Christian's head. "So how about it? You, me, Winter Ball?"

I groaned inwardly. Winter Ball was this Saturday night. There was no way he'd leave me alone unless I said yes.

"No." I said flatly, dropping my text and grabbing East of Eden from the front pocket of my backpack and sticking my nose in it.

"Why not?"

"I'm not going."

"But I'm asking you to go."

"She said she's not going!" Missy half yelled at him. Sean and Hayden arrived at the table and shot Christian a death glare. I had told them how much he had been annoying me and they did not appreciate that. My two 'brothers' were larger and more muscular than the wiry Christian. With a final glance from Sean to Hayden (my boys cracked their knuckles threateningly), he left.

"Get a clue pal." Sean muttered. I hugged him and Hayden in thanks. At least I could count on these boys.

"So are we doing the Winter Ball thing again?" Hayden asked, looking at me.

"I just have to clear it with my parents but I'm sure they'll be cool with it." Every year instead of going to Winter Ball we all gathered at someone's house to gorge on junk food and play video games. It was always a good time.

"Sunday we're going shopping for prom dresses right?" Rachel said to Missy and I.

"Yeah you two could probably spend the night and we then we could just shoot up to the store." I said.

"But it's January!" Hayden cried. "Prom's not until April!"

"It's almost February babe and dresses have to be ordered. We're not going to the mall for this dance." Missy explained to her boyfriend, patting the confused boy on the head.

* * *

The rest of the week went by quickly. We had fun in jazz band by listening to the tapes from Friday's show and fixing some stuff. Wind ensemble was easy as always; the concert wasn't until May so we were in no rush to learn the music like we were for the winter concert. My parents okayed the anti-Winter Ball party and the girls sleeping over and even pitched in by getting tons of snack food and promising pizza. I went to drumline happy. At least I could get away from mosquitoes at practice.

…Or so I thought.

Saturday morning I parked in the music wing lot to see Christian leaning against his Pontiac with a bouquet of flowers. I sighed. He really could not take a hint.

"These are for you." He said quickly when I got out of my car. He handed me a cluster of daisies that were an unnatural shade of blue.

"I heard they're your favorite flower so I got them dyed blue cause it's your favorite! I hope you like them!" This boy was way too cheerful. At least my stalker was pretty dim. My favorite flowers were sunflowers and my favorite color was red. Someone obviously wasn't paying much attention. Thankfully.

"Well they certainly are something." I said, trying to move past him to get inside. Perry would eat me if I was late.

"Are you sure you aren't going to Winter Ball?" He asked._ Desperate much?_

"Yes I'm positive I'm not going. I have other plans. I am not going with you." I said slowly. I used his shock to my advantage, slipping around him and inside.

Once inside, I tossed the freaky blue daisies. I shook my head like a wet dog. What was with him?

"He likes you. That much is obvious." I turned to see James standing there. "But he isn't that bright."

"You're telling me." I said walking back towards the band room. James held the door open for me. He bowed as I passed.

"Hey James, you going to Winter Ball tonight…?" I asked casually when he followed me in.

"Don't know, why?"

"Well, you see…"

* * *

I drove home, my mood lightened considerably by a good rehearsal. We had learned more drill and gotten more music. Perry and the staff were happy by the practice which was always a good thing. I took a shower when I got home and started to get things ready for our 'Anti-Winter Ball Awesome Kid Rave Party', as dubbed by Hayden. I stocked the basement's mini-fridge with soda and iced tea and went to make some dip for the chips. Avery watched me as I poured bags of candy into bowls, adding her snide comments every once and a while.

"I can't believe you're giving up going to a dance for some stupid video games."

"You're going to get so fat from eating all of that!"

"What boys would want to hang out with you?"

Sean was the first one to show up. My sister was efficiently silenced.

Missy, Hayden and Rachel all showed up within the next fifteen minutes. I was waiting to see if one more person showed up before heading down. Convinced he wasn't coming, I followed Rachel down the stairs.

Yes, I invited James. Why? I really don't know. Maybe I felt bad for him. After all, he's been in this bubble of misery for the past two months. Maybe I wanted to extend an olive branch of friendship to him. I honestly didn't think he would show but I thought I'd be a nice person and ask anyway.

This is why I was caught completely off guard when my delightful little sister shouted, "Hot neighbor boy is at the door!"

I ran up the stairs to go let James in, yelling at my sister, "You know, you could have let him in so he doesn't have to stand out in the cold!" Avery rolled her eyes. I opened the door and stood back so James could step out of the freezing February night.

"Come on in, everyone's down in the basement." I lead him down the stairs. Rachel raised her eyebrows when she saw me coming down with him. Missy looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind. Sean and Hayden didn't notice us because they were locked in a fierce Guitar Hero battle. James made himself at home and I downed a bottle of Snapple. I had a feeling I'd need the sugar rush later when explaining myself to my friends.

* * *

Later that night, after the boys had left and we were getting into our PJs, I thought about James. Tonight I had seen the old James. Not the old James from last summer though. The old James who was my best friend way back in the day. I had been so happy to have my James back; I honestly could have hugged him. So, as he left, I did.

I returned to the basement with a pile of blankets and pillows. Missy and Rachel were already down there, shrieking and laughing as they tried to play Kingdom Hearts. I watched for a bit as they died multiple times before taking the controller from them and beating the boss myself. We set up camp on the floor and Rachel turned her attention to me when her pillow fort was secure.

"Why'd you invite my ex-boyfriend?" She said to me bluntly. Her tone wasn't angry or vindictive; rather it was calm and curios.

"Honestly….I kind of don't know. I just asked him out of the blue at drumline. We were both walking in and I thought it would be nice just to ask." I had surprised us both by asking.

"As your best friends we have to remind you that if you two end up married and have a baby you're going to have to name it after us. We did get you both together," Missy said absently, digging a spoon into a carton of strawberry ice cream. "Rachel Missy? Melissa Rachel? Hmm...that has a nice ring to it. Melissa Rachel Roberson-Daly. I like it."

"Number one, we're not even dating yet! Number two, who says we'd get married? And number three, what if it's a boy?"

"Yet! Subconsciously you know we're right. It's all going to come out soon. Missy has five bucks on you two getting together at Wildwood and my money's on Prom." Rachel said.

"Glad to know my best friends are betting on my love life," I deadpanned.

"It's only because we love you!" Rachel sang. I whacked her with my pillow.

"Do you love me now?" I yelled, jumping up and running from my now armed best friends.

* * *

The next day the three of us drove into town and went to the Bridal/Prom dress shop to search for some gowns. Rachel danced around the multiple colored dressed as Missy and I questioned her sanity. A woman in her fifties came over and introduced herself as Maryann and went about helping Rachel into a dressing room. She had already found several lovely gowns fitting her requirements of being teal, strapless and floor length. Missy said she'd like a brown dress and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted. Missy flitted away to a room leaving me alone in this forest of satin.

Rachel came out a few minutes later with no dress. I looked at her and she shrugged.

"They didn't look as good on me as they did on the rack." The pair of us went back to looking. Missy came out holding a dress. She nodded at us excitedly. At least one of us found something. Missy went to the front desk to order the gown and get sized properly. Rachel abandoned me again for a dress and I wandered around by myself. I was thinking about wearing a dress that was blue or maybe silver. No girly colors for me. I spotted a bit of silver and pulled a dress out from in between two pink Cinderella dresses. The dress was a shade of silver that was neither super metallically nor dull. It had an interesting strap that would wrap around my left shoulder and I completely loved it. I went to try it on and fell even more in love with it. I stepped out of the changing room to applause from Rachel and wolf whistling from Missy.

"You look amazing!" Rachel cried, hugging me.

"Have you noticed that we always find the best dresses when we shop together?" Missy said as she tried on a pair of shoes.

"That's because we're awesome!" Rachel chirped. I ordered my dress and picked a pair of shoes and left with the girls, laughing over something stupid like best friends do.

* * *

February, the shortest month, went by quickly. We had a few more drumline shows and succeeded in placing in the top two spots at every competition. The jazz band was continuing its run for a straight-superior season and I picked up another Best Soloist award. The Saxes received another Best Saxes award (Missy was becoming quite unbearable) and the rhythm section also added a trophy to their name but there hadn't been any love for the brass sections of the band. Coolidge was pushing the jazz band harder and Perry was starting to keep us later and later during practice.

It's not like I needed to sleep…

The dress shop called and said our dresses were in and we could come and get them whenever we wanted. Missy was going to drive us down hopefully on the first Sunday of March. With drumline and jazz band in full swing, Missy and I were packed pretty tightly into our schedules. Rachel was as well. Opening night for the school musical was in about two weeks and she was often still at school when the drumline was leaving practice at nearly nine thirty at night.

When I finally had my prom dress in my possesion, I realized that I was missing a traditionally important part of the whole Prom experiance. A date. Although Christian had offered to take me, I had no desire to go with him. Needless to say, the clueless wonder was still acting oddly.

I thought about who I could go with during a bus ride to a drumline competition. I didn't really feel like going with anyone in a romantic way-I was just too busy right now for a boyfriend. The end of the year was always crazy and I really didn't need a boy to cause any more drama.

_Well, Hayden and Brian both have girlfriends. They're off the list._

Maybe I could take a sophomore or a freshman? There were a few cool ones and they'd probably kill to go to Prom.

_It would be really awkward and can you say 'Cougar'?_

Sean? I was still the only person who knew he was gay, so maybe he wouldn't mind being my dance buddy for the night...

_James?_

Seriously? Did I just think that? Of course, if we did go to Prom together there would have to be strict boundaries...

_"Just friends?" People still do that? _

I think so...

_Missy and Rachel would never let you live it down and would try all night to get you two together._

I have time to decide. Prom's not for another month.

_But if you don't get a move on all your friends will have someone and you won't. _

I know. If I want to go with someone, I have to pick someone and I have to soon.

* * *

_A/N-You have a never ending strike to thank for this longer chapter. Reviews rock my socks!!_


	37. Or A Sign?

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* * *

_

A/N-Thanks to JacokNortovc, Jollibee, projectfreq91, Hottie12345k, guardgirl414, Jestry and Oscarisamazing for reviewing!

_Reminder to vote in the poll about a possible sequel-I want to know what you guys think about it. _

_Sorry about the long wait-school's back in and it's been a tad nuts. _

_Lyrics don't belong to me still. _

* * *

Chapter Thirty Seven-…Or A Sign?

_And we could ride all night  
To the place of a blinking light  
Wishing traffic was faster  
Traffic was faster  
Keeping safe distance  
But courting disaster  
We could dance all night  
To the sounds of a starting fight  
Hoping change would come around  
Change would come around  
Amazing division  
How sweet the sound_

_Blame Me! Blame Me!-__**Anberlin**_

* * *

A week in spring that didn't have a jazz show or a drumline competition meant only one thing-Spring Break. The shortened school week lead to a frenzy of projects and tests that had to be done.

My spring break proved to be as uneventful as my winter break. I slept in late every day and practiced. I hung out with the girls and Grandpop and spent the night at Rachel's one day. I spent the long weekend recharging my body because I knew how crazy things got from now until the end of school.

I was incredibly excited for Friday's jazz show for one big reason-home show! The home show in any music program was always one of the best and most fun shows we could have. We would always close the night and everyone would love us because they had to-after all, we were the host!

Friday dawned and I hopped out of bed excited for the night ahead. I got dressed up since tonight was a special show that called for special dress. I didn't see any issue in my black top and spinny dark grey skirt until I caught Christian eying me from across the room in wind ensemble. Hayden also noticed and threw a crappy marimba mallet at him, hitting him in the side of the head. I smiled at my friend in thanks and he saluted back.

After school, Missy and I grabbed dinner at the nearby Pizza Hut before going to get ready for the show. Although we were last to go on, we still had to be back at the school before any of the other bands arrived. There was only so much that our lovely band parents could do and Coolidge didn't trust them with the drum kit.

I knew Rachel was somewhere in the audience. She promised to come to the home show and in return Missy and I promised we would go to one of the musical showings. My brother was home from college on spring break so he might have joined my parents and grandfather out in the crowd. I knew my sister would never be caught dead at one of my events and it was a little too late for my little brother to be out. James might be out there too, for all I know.

Things were odd around us. It seemed as if we had called a silent truce and were slowly rebuilding a friendship. I personally would really like to be his friend again. I was really tired of the flip flopping of being friends or enemies.

* * *

Some sophomores had brought in Rock Band and an Xbox and were trying to connect it to the TV in the band room when I walked in. I had helped Coolidge and some other members in setting up the stage and posting signs telling other bands where their rooms were. There was almost three hours left until we were to go on, but this being a jazz show, it would probably be closer to three and a half hours. While the sophomores continued failing at setting up the Xbox I pulled out a deck of cards from my case, grabbed a few friends and started dealing.

"Okay gang, the name of the game is Egyptian Ratscrew…"

A half an hour later, the sophomores still couldn't get the game system to work and nearly the entire jazz band had joined in on the game of Ratscrew. The younger boys joined in when Hayden wandered over to take a look at the TV.

Five minutes later, we had Rock Band.

The night went on in this fashion until Coolidge came out of his office and told us to grab our instruments and get ready to get tuned. After a good tune, we headed upstairs to the library since the band room was too close to the auditorium to play in. I felt good about the warm up and I felt good about the show. It was the home show fever that all of us had and none of us could stop. All of our songs were performed better then they had ever been in practice. It was an exciting rush that infected everyone, including the crowd of people. They cheered and yelled after every song and solo. I could hear Rachel over the entire audience after my solo.

* * *

After the show I packed away Walt and headed out to find my parents and friends in the mass of people assembled outside of the auditorium. Rachel immediately attacked me in a hug and started jabbering away a mile a minute, telling me about how awesome we sounded and asking whether I had heard her cheering. I talked to her for a bit before pointing her in Missy's direction; she flew over to her like a bat out of hell. I looked around for my parents but had my vision cut off by a pair of slightly calloused hands. I spun around to see James standing there smiling down at me.

"Hey Sydney! Nice show. You pretty much beasted that solo."

"I know," I said, flipping my hair back cockily before laughing. "Thanks."

"I'm thinking about trying out next year." He said.

"Really? That's cool. Auditions are in two weeks you know. You better start working on the stuff." I shifted my trumpet from one hand to the other. Holding my case and my huge jazz band folder was not very comfortable.

"Here I got that. Your parents around here somewhere?" He questioned as he took my trumpet from me despite my protests.

"Yeah somewhere. You really don't have to do that you know. I can carry my own stuff." I stood on my tip toes to try and find my mother and father.

"That's what friends are for." He said offhandedly. "I think I see your grandfather. Yep-see he's waving at you."

We made our way through the crowd and I looked over at him, one question burning in my mind.

"Can we really be friends after all that's happened?" I asked. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we've tried to…"

"We've been through a lot together Syd. Getting in that crash really shook things up for me. I don't want to take things for granted anymore." He said. I opened my mouth to respond but closed it after the look on his face said he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

My grandfather was singing my praises to a group of his friends when I approached him.

"My Sydney-yes, the lead trumpet-she wants to major in music education just like me! Who else to teach the future than the best of today! She practices so much; she reminds me of her grandmother…"

"Hi Grandpop." I said meekly. James stifled a laugh beside me. I kicked him lightly in the shin.

"There's my shinning star!" He half yelled, throwing his arm around me. "Tell everyone where you're applying for." He said to me.

"Um, Berklee, Julliard, Carnage Mellon, UArts…"

"Really? All those are very exclusive schools." An elderly lady said. "Have you considered back ups?" I instantly didn't like her.

"Well, I really would love to go to Berklee, so I guess Julliard would count as my second choice…" I said, making my grandfather laugh. The woman wrinkled her nose. I looked at her closely. She reminded me of someone…where had I seen that look before?

"Grandmother, we should go. I want to be rested for guard tomorrow." Abby came into view. Of course…

"What are you doing here?" She snapped at me.

"Well, I am in jazz band and it would make sense for me to be here tonight because this is their home show." I stated bluntly. Abby threw me a dirty look before turning on her heel and disappearing.

Her grandmother said goodbye to everyone before looking at me and saying, "Good luck on your college search. You're going to need it." I stared after her, incredulous. The group soon broke up and went their separate ways. I was surprised to see James was still standing behind me with Walt.

"You have a problem with Martha's granddaughter?" Grandpop asked as we went to find my parents.

"Abby? She hates me, always has ever since seventh grade." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James wince.

"That's ironic…" My grandfather mused.

"What?"

"Remember when I told you about the majorette I dated before your grandmother realized she was head over heels for me? Well, Martha was that majorette and she never took too kindly to me leaving her for Elizabeth. They didn't like each other very much." My grandfather's loud laughter attracted my parents' attention and we finally headed home.

* * *

With shows for jazz band and drumline every week now, my only day to do anything was Sunday. I met up with Missy, Hayden, Sean and James the Sunday after the home show to see the high school musical. Opening night had been yesterday and while I wouldn't have minded going then, Perry probably-defiantly-would have had a problem with me leaving the show. This year the drama department was presenting Rodger's and Hammerstein's State Fair. The show was a good fit for the small town of Sycamore-it was very hometown Americana. It felt nice to finally be able to sit back and watch a show rather than run around back stage like a chicken with my head cut off. During intermission, I found myself with James while Sean went to get a snack and Missy and Hayden mysteriously "disappeared". We talked about drumline and classes and other things.

"Can I ask you something?" He suddenly said.

"You just did. Want to ask another one?" James rolled his eyes as I smirked.

"Yeah."

"Shoot."

"You wanna go with me to Prom? Strictly as friends of course" James asked, adding the last bit on quickly.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. "That sounds like fun." We headed back into the auditorium and met back up with sugar-loaded Sean and a slightly disheveled looking Missy and Hayden. We teased the couple until the curtain went up and all was silent.

* * *

Life was going well. The jazz band was piling up awards and the drumline was chugging along. Perry wanted the entire show done for our home show in the first week in April. Nights that weren't spent at some kind of practice were spent doing AP review and college applications. My auditions were scheduled for this summer and I knew that I only had one shot to make it count.

I realized that I hadn't hung out with my favorite freshman in a while so I invited her out to breakfast with the battery girls on the morning of the home show. Adrianna was happy with her spot in the pit and excited for the day's show. This was one of the biggest shows of the season-second only to Finals at Wildwood. Today we'd honor our seniors and have a rocking show in front of a home crowd.

I took a deep breath as I lifted off my tenors. I had ducked behind one of the large cardboard props to pull off my dark blue 'Police' uniform and reveal a bright red halter dress. We had just ended 'Regatta de Blanc' and I was waiting to reemerge with my drums as 'Roxanne'. We threw it into the show last week and the judges and crowd loved it. Perry wanted me in the role because it would make sense in the drill and musically. Ang had a field day with me and even suggested marching in stilettos but I put my (bare) foot down on that one. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and carefully slid my drums back on the harness. Thankfully the dress had a spinny skirt so I could march and was of a light material that made it bearable under the uniform. Noah was beginning the roll off and I knew the entire line was looking back waiting for me to reappear. I stepped out to cheers from crowd and wolf whistles from the boys in other lines. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes and put on my baby eating face and went to show the boys how it's done. At the end of the song, I ducked back to pull my uniform back on. I had nailed my feature and had the boys cheering for something other than my figure (I think…).

The week following the show was auditions for next year's jazz band. I was confident going in and came out pleased with how I did. I wished the other trumpets luck as I gathered my stuff and left. James waved to me as I passed him and I returned it with a smile and a wave of my own.

Suddenly, I really couldn't wait for prom.

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_A/N-Yay! I finally finished this! Next up is Prom!!_


	38. Feels So Good

_A/N-Thanks to guardgirl414, Jollibee, Jestry, Hottie12345k, dutchesscourtney, Silvorfithrade, projectfreq91, Lily-Snape-568 (3x!) and iheartsaxophone for reviewing! _

_I'm back. I can say that December won't see many updates until after Christmas, with indoor drumline, concerts, school and a parade. Ugh…can't wait until the week and a half off for Christmas! Anyway, here's the latest installment of Sydney's life._

_Reminders to vote in the poll and to check out two new one shots-one marching band, __Reflection__ and one Harry Potter, __Divine Intervention__._

_As usual, lyrics are not mine, and yes Jake, the title is taken from the jazz band's ballad this year. Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter Thirty Eight- Feels So Good

_There's nothing you can do that can't be done.  
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.  
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.  
It's easy._

__

Nothing you can make that can't be made.  
No one you can save that can't be saved.  
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.  
It's easy.

All you need is love.

_All You Need Is Love-__**The Beatles**_

* * *

In order for the drumline juniors to go to Prom, we had to leave the competition early. Junior Prom had always been, to my knowledge on a Saturday, which always meant drumline. Perry was cool with letting us bounce once we finished our show. I was a designated driver—I would be taking myself, James and Brian back to the school so they could pick up their cars and we could all head home to get ready. After helping load the truck after a great show, the three of us piled into my car. The dash read two thirty when I started the car and pulled out of the school's parking lot. Prom was being held at some country club and didn't start until seven. I figured we'd be home within the hour, at which time I'd let know Rachel I'd arrive and she'd come to kidnap me and do weird stuff to my hair. Knowing her however, she was probably sitting in my room right now conversing with my dog.

Turns out I wasn't that far off. Rachel was pacing my kitchen waiting for me to walk in the door. Her Prom dress hung off one of the chairs; it looked as if she had done her nails while waiting for me to arrive.

"There you are! Where have you been!?" She yelled the moment I walked in the door.

"Uh, drumline?" I barely managed to get out before being forcibly dragged up the stairs and thrown in the bathroom. I showered and blew my hair dry. After reinforcing its straightness with my sister's straightening iron, I went back to my room where Rachel sat me down and painted my nails clear with white tips. As my nails dried and as I was forbidden to touch anything, she twisted my hair back up into an elegant and thankfully simple knot. Once in my dress, I looked at myself in the mirror and then glanced at the clock. Missy and the boys wouldn't be here for pictures until six. Rachel was fumbling with the back of her dress.

"Dude, it's only four thirty." I said. Rachel swore. She unzipped my dress and I slid into jeans and a button down shirt and went to the kitchen to make us something to eat while we wasted an hour. After watching some TV and talking about boys, we redressed in our Prom finery. Rachel applied some make-up and looked at me for approval. She was going with my cousin David. He was a junior like us and a star on the track team. They had meet through classes and were hooked up by me. This was going to be their first date and I could tell Rachel was a bundle of nerves even though she viscously denied it.

* * *

Missy was the first to show up with her mom. Our mothers took pictures of the three of us until the boys arrived; my mother insisted on posing me with every available family member in the house, from my brother and sister to my father and grandfather. Grandpop said he wanted his picture with me framed and put next to the one of my grandmother. Once the boys arrived, the moms went overboard with the picture taking. When they finally ran out of film or had their cameras wrestled away from them, the six of us piled into Hayden's SUV and headed off.

The grand ballroom of the place was decked out with the theme-"All You Need Is Love." It was a very anti-single place, I thought, as the ballroom was decorated in red and gold and black. I was glad to be on James' arm tonight. At our table, I was on his left and Rachel was to my right. I grinned to myself as I listened to her talk animatedly with David. She was genuinely excited about this potential relationship. James looked pretty good in his tux. It had silver pinstripes and he had made an effort to tame his black hair. He was relaxed and looked cute talking to Hayden across the table. Inside my matching bag, my phone began to vibrate; pulling it out, I saw it was a text from Adri. Flipping it open, I read it out loud.

"D-line 2 of 5!" The drumline kids at the table let out a yell of celebration-a good score now was good going into Championships next weekend.

The dancing started up not long after. It was amusing to watch my classmates "dance." It was basically all mainstream rap anyway, so the herd on the floor started to grind. Abby was right in the mist of it, wearing some fluffy pink monstrosity and dancing with some random guys. I rolled my eyes from my seat. James at least had the brains to not ask me to grind with him. Rachel and David had disappeared into the crowd. I was confident they weren't grinding; I knew Rachel hated it and I knew David barely knew how to dance anyway, but something told me I wouldn't want to find them. I was talking to Missy while James talked to Hayden. I didn't hear much on Hayden's end; probably because he was too busy staring at Missy. When a slower number finally came on, Missy practically jumped on her boyfriend and dragged him out onto the floor. James raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged. We followed them to the corner of the floor.

Much like at Homecoming, the floor was a lot emptier at this time. Rachel and David were swaying to the beat not far from us. James held me loosely in his arms so I could judge how closely I wanted to be to him. I smiled and rested my head on his chest. Even in heels he was still a head taller than me. It felt really good, until I saw a blonde boy approach us. I groaned. Christian appeared at my side.

"May I cut in?" He asked James, who stepped aside slightly to let him dance with me. I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to me.

"No." I said. James looked at me funnily.

"Why not?" Christian asked, not to be put off.

"Because I don't want to dance with you? Because I'm fine with my partner? Because you're a creeper?"

Christian apparently didn't understand. He asked again if he could cut in.

"She said no, so I'm going to say no. Why don't you leave? She doesn't want you here." James retorted, tightening his grip on me protectively. I glared at him. Christian got the message and slunk away. I pulled out of James' arms.

"What was that for?" I asked angrily. James looked confused.

"You-and him-I can handle things by myself!" I snapped.

"Whoa cool down there beautiful! I was just trying to help!" I took a few deep breaths.

_You should really learn to control that temper…he wasn't insulting you, he was just trying to help. _

Oh stop being rational.

_He just doesn't understand…calm down and don't let yourself lose his friendship. _

"Sorry…" I said, giving him a hug. "I can take care of myself, okay? I don't need you or any other guy stepping in and being a hero."

"I know you don't babe, but men are idiots sometime." He said, smiling down at me.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Never call me babe."

"'Kay ba-Syd."

* * *

_A/N-Kinda short, but it's been awhile since I wrote about my favorite trumpet player. Hopefully I'll have more time to write soon. Reviews are great!!!_


	39. Almost Here

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, guardgirl414, JacokNortovc, Jollibee and Hottie12345k for reviewing! There's a special treat at the end of the chapter. _

_Don't forget to check out the drabbles and the various one shots! _

_As usual, plot and characters are mine, lyrics are not._

* * *

Chapter Thirty Nine-Almost Here

_Oh, disappointments, so disappointing.  
This may be my last one.  
It's gonna be good and hard.  
It might be a touch out of key. (A touch out of key)  
When this thing breaks.  
I will be you  
You will be me.  
I pray that this is really happening.  
When this thing breaks.  
I will be you  
You will be me._

_Desperate Times, Desperate Measures-__**Underoath**_

* * *

Prom confused me. With everything that went on with James and Christian and Rachel and David, I didn't know where I fell. Rachel and David were officially a couple now. It was so weird seeing my best friend and my cousin walking around campus holding hands. James was becoming a good friend again. And Christian…?

"No." I said flatly. School had just ended and I was at my locker.

"I didn't even say anything!" Christian had ambushed me.

"But you were going to ask if I was doing anything this weekend weren't you?" I asked him as I stuffed my AP Composition notebook into my bag.

"Uh…maybe?"

"Well my answer is no."

"Why?" He whined. Seriously? He was whining? I only thought girls did that. I swung my bag over my shoulder and headed for the band room to grab Walt and my jazz band music. Christian, of course, followed me out to my car. He was acting like a little lost puppy. Much as I loved puppies, I think this one had rabies.

"Will you leave me alone? I don't like you like that!" I finally yelled, annoyed at his antics. He kept trying to block my car in. When he wouldn't move, I threw my car into reverse and backed out of my spot and peeled out of the lot. On the road and far, far away from Christian, I shook my head.

_Teenage boys…can't live with 'em can't live without 'em._

I can certainly live without this one.

_True, true…_

* * *

Friday night was the ever important jazz band championships. It was being held at a university about an hour away so Coolidge manage to spring the entire jazz band from a half a day of classes.

My dress stayed in my car while I survived health and APUSH. I headed down to the band room after class to get changed and warm up my trumpet. On the long ride I sat next to Missy while Coolidge went around the bus with a video camera to make something for the jazz band portion of the band banquet.

Ah, the band banquet. Three weeks until I would find out whether I was drum major. I felt like my auditions went well, but that didn't stop Abby from trying to sabotage it. Between hiding my audition music and trying to trip me up while she was being tested on commands, the contempt was there. I thought she was going to rip my throat out when she saw me enter the band room the first day of try outs.

I tried to put the upcoming banquet out of my mind and focus on this weekend. Tonight we'd be in competition for a winning jazz band season and tomorrow the drumline would be headed off for Chapter Championships before we boarded the bus for Wildwood next week. I tapped out Double Beat on my folder and waited for the bus to pull into the parking lot. My iPod was of no help to me now. I was too excited to concentrate. I had to calm myself down or else I'd screw up royally. Running through all the drumline warm ups helped a bit and talking to Sean about his date helped, but I was still hyped up. I figured once I got there and had my trumpet out and was warming up I'd chill.

I couldn't stop myself from bouncing on the balls of my feet while we waited for the curtain to go up. My excitement had faded into pure adrenaline and competitiveness. I was ready to win. I was tired of the disappointing showings of past years. Last year the band walked away with bad scores all around. It was frustrating, especially for Coolidge. He was the most upset by our scores because he knew that we could have done far better.

I knew the music by heart; we'd been playing it since September. I knew it. I knew I knew it. But for some reason, it wasn't all there. I wasn't feeling the music like I normally did. My solo wasn't awful, but it had certainly been better. The band didn't mesh as well as we did in practice.

Now, all there was to do was wait.

I sat with Missy, Hayden and Sean in the university cafeteria. Missy was blathering on and on about the school and its music program. We sat around for awhile just munching on some snacks and people watching. One of the sophomores was going around to all the girls selling food and dropping pick up lines. It was rather amusing watching him get turned down every single time. It helped to take my mind off of the disappointing performance the band had. I was angry at myself. I went out there and I performed—but not to the best of my ability. I was filled with regret. The only thing I could take away was that next year (as I was lead trumpet again) I would do better.

When Coolidge came back from the judge's table he didn't look happy. I cringed, unable to stop the feeling that this was all my fault.

The jazz band walked away with a fourth place trophy out of six and an overall rating of Excellent, one below a top rating of Superior. The ride home was silent as we listened to the tapes. They pointed out our elementary mistakes and how this wasn't the way we had been in the past.

* * *

Hopefully drumline championships would prove to be better. The Line was pretty well prepared and ready for this show. We were the only Open class Line in our Chapter so we were already guaranteed a first place. Our numerical score today would determine our placing going into semi finals on Thursday in Wildwood.

Our warm up went poorly. Perry wasn't pleased, but strangely enough every time we had a terrible warm up we had a pretty great show. The pit and battery separated to get into positions to move out when the drumline before us was finished performing. I could tell people were nervous. The rookies in particular looked as if they were going to throw up.

The show went well. No one dropped a stick and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Our unison hits were tight and everything went according to plan. Panting at the end of the show, I ran to tear the drums from my body and get the floor mat and props. I was far more pleased with my performance today than I was yesterday.

After putting everything back on the truck, James and I walked around still in uniform. The entire Line was going out for retreat for this show. Perry decided I'd wear my Roxanne dress while the rest of the Line stayed in their Police uniforms. I was on the receiving end of many appreciative glances and some down right leers. James stayed with me acting as a pseudo-boyfriend to stop any advances I didn't want. I was grateful for the help. Teenage boys, as I had learned, could be very persistent.

"In first place with a score of 89.6, that's eight nine point six, Sycamore Falls Mirage Indoor Drumline!" The entire line snapped to a salute while I was cheering inside. An 89.6 was a very good score to go into Championships with. We'd probably be seeded second or third in our class.

With the beginning of May came Wildwood. We'd be leaving half way through school on Thursday so we could get to the shore by four. The days leading up to Wildwood were long and tortuous. My AP classes were being spent reviewing for the AP exams coming up and my music courses were spent in preparation for the concert in a few weeks. Wildwood was not going to be a vacation but it always was a much needed change of scenery. My bags were packed and I was like a little kid the night before Christmas. Weekend in Wildwood was the pinnacle of our drumline season—and it was almost here.

_A/N-Yay! Wildwood will make up the next two or three chapters. So much fun…_

_Anyway, I found this through dutchesscourtney and her drabbles. It's a drabble generator! It's loads of fun to do-I didn't change a thing from what I got. Hope everyone has a happy holiday season, whatever you celebrate!_

* * *

**I Saw Sydney Kissing Santa Claus**

James woke up in the middle of the night. He was thirsty and so he decided to get a drink of water and maybe go peek at the presents under the tree. Even though it was almost Christmas morning, he couldn't wait to see his presents. There was one colossal box that looked like a potato.

Then James noticed that Sydney was out of bed too. She must not have been able to wait for her presents either.

James thought that he would surprise Sydney. Maybe even sneak up behind her and run her on her gifted finger. That always made Sydney foolish.

James crept devotedly down the stairs and into the living room. There was the tree, with its average lights, and the presents, heaped up evenly, and the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, and Sydney. Kissing someone.

James was so angry he picked up a drum from a table and threw it proudly on a boat.

They both looked around.

"Sydney, you light dog!" James yelled. "How could you cheat on me with...with...?" James looked and then rubbed his nose and looked again. It was Santa Claus.

"Let me explain," Sydney said. "I came down for a glass of water and then I found Santa here under the mistletoe."

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa said. "So of course she had to give me a kiss. And what a sleepy kiss it was."

"Well, I suppose," James said quickly. "If he was under the mistletoe."

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa said. "Why don't you give me a kiss too? Then things will be vast."

That seemed reasonable. James went over under the mistletoe and kissed Santa.

Santa was the best kisser ever, like the darkest depths of Mordor. He made James's knee cap feel all breakable.

"You see?" Sydney said uselessly and James saw. So they had a three-way.

Everybody's presents were late.


	40. Wildwood Days

_A/N-Thanks to Oscarisamazing, Jollibee, Silvorfithrade, projectfreq91, dutchesscourtney, Nature Dragon Vivi, Hottie12345k, heartts and hazeleyedhottie for reviewing! _

_*Does dance* Happy fortieth chapter!_

_Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Lyrics, the Aquarius, United and their awesome spiny drum thing and the Stardust are not mine unfortunally. _

* * *

Chapter Forty-Wildwood Days

_Whoa whoa whoa whoa those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days  
Oh baby, every day's a holiday and every night is a Saturday night  
Oh those Wildwood days, wild, wild Wildwood days  
And then those party lights wild, wild Wildwood nights_

_Wildwood Days-__**Rydell Bobby**_

* * *

Ah, Wildwood. I pulled Hayden back out of the window of our bus and poked my face out instead. I could smell the salt air and the freedom. I'd be in town in twenty minutes and I'd be performing Synchronicity in front of a huge crowd tonight. Somehow, Perry had managed to spring us early from school and get us a fancy coach bus (complete with bathrooms, albeit incredibly nasty). We got out about halfway though the day to go to the band room to pack up the truck and load the bus.

And Perry got us Phyllis.

Phyllis is drumline legend. The world's coolest bus driver who can put up with and match the worst of the innuendoes and jokes that comes from the drumline. She'd be taking us around the town when we went to practice and would be staying with us on a mini vacation of her own. She could parallel park the bus in the minuscule parking lot of the Aquarius. Phyllis was popular with the drumline.

We were staying at the Aquarius Motor Inn. It was a dive, but it was our dive for the weekend. It was better than many other places other lines were staying at and was the closest to the Convention Center. The band parents would feed us on the deck and there was a heated pool. The owner of the hotel liked Mirage because we were pretty good and didn't cause too much chaos. The members of the line were on the third floor, while the band parents and staff stayed on the second. I was going to be rooming with Missy, Adrianna and Jenny; both bass drummers. The two freshmen had no idea what to expect. Missy and I had told them to bring food along with their stuff. When the four of us unpacked everything, we came up with a grand total of nine large bags of candy (including Swedish Fish and Smarties), a six pack of Coke and a twelve pack of bottled water, four Warm Delights, a bag of Tostitos with extra hot salsa and a bag of Caesar salad mix. We had a small mountain of plastic utensils (Perry had forbidden us from using the stove and the metal knives, spoons and forks because the boys would probably light the hotel on fire with the stove and who knows when the last time the utensils had been cleaned?) and paper plates.

* * *

The members of the battery headed down to the truck to collect their instruments for storage in their rooms. In our room we had my quints, Missy's snare and bass two and bass three; Jenny and Adrianna, respectively, taking up much of the dining area of the tiny room. The two freshmen were going to be sleeping in the back room in the two beds while Missy and I took the couch and floor of our kitchen/living area.

As the line met for dinner, the nerves began to set in. Prelims were in two and a half hours. After eating a bit, Noah and I met by the pool to warm up and run some parts of the show. Loosened up, I watched the snares practice. The basses toddled out a few minutes after to practice. The young bassline looked nervous. Adrianna had a greenish tint to her face. I smiled at the line. They were pretty good for being so young. Much as I loved quints, I still had a small soft spot for the bass drums.

With about an hour left until our scheduled show time, the battery assembled in the back parking lot of the hotel. Warm up went poorly. The bassline was dropping notes like crazy because of the nerves. Perry was frustrated. The pit was having trouble loading their instruments out of the truck. The battery made their way over to the Convention Center in silence. In the large back stage area, we dropped our shoes and drums and formed a circle. Swaying gently, Noah started to speak.

"This is what it's all about. We're here, we're in Wildwood. Our season is about this. This will be the most insane weekend of your lives. Just don't think about what we're about to do. The thought process will be what screws us up. Yeah, prelims. Whatevs. This Line has been doing great all season. We don't need some judge telling us what's up. We know what's up. Mini Mirage on three. One, two, three!"

"Mirage!" The circle whispered. The drumline broke off into sections to have their own pep talks. Noah and I hugged tightly before suiting up again. The pit was at their instruments, ready to roll out onto the floor. I was bouncing on the balls of my feet. When the Line before us finished, we hurried out to get ready to pull out the floor mat. The pit set up their instruments while the battery and staff put up props and got into position. I clicked sticks with Missy, Hayden and the rest of the line.

"Are the judges ready?" After a minute, "They are! Mirage, are you ready?" Noah gave the dut and the line went to attention to applause from the audience.

"Mirage you make take the floor in Preliminary Competition."

The show began and the battery moved seamlessly over the floor. "King of Pain" went without a hitch. The solos were good and Noah and I were locking like mad. The snareline didn't drop a stick and there weren't many dropped notes from the bassline. Drill was looking really good from what I could see from my dot. We burst into our title song, "Synchronicity I" and started to rush from excitement or nerves, I couldn't tell. Desperately trying to save ourselves from a tempo tear, Noah and I took our part slightly slower to get everyone back on track. The bassline caught on and the runaway snares finally got back in a few measures later. Perry was not going to be happy about that. I tried to push the screw up out of my head to concentrate on the remaining four minutes of our show. I could only hope that the rest of the line, particularly the battery would forget about messing up and concentrate on the rest of the show. "Don't Stand So Close To Me" went well; but the synth in the pit began to short out. Stupid electronics. Our crappy amps weren't going to help us now.

I slipped back behind the large prop in the center to strip off my navy blue scrubs to show off the red halter and jump back into drill for "Roxanne". The end of the show was nearing. It had gone by quickly, as usual. I slid my drums back on and stepped out. The crowd yelled and cheered and wolf-whistled as usual. "Roxanne" was our crowd pleaser and our time to catch our breaths before cranking the tempo back up again. The song was tight. I could tell that we were getting back into the grove.

Our final tune was "Synchronicity II". It was fast and ridiculous. I jumped back behind the prop and was back in my navy scrubs thankfully; marching that fast in a dress would have been impossible. Slamming the hits at the end, I shot the box a final drumline glare before I flipped up my quads and ran back off court to drop my drums and then ran back to get our props before folding up the floor. The show had been pretty good, sans the tempo tear in the first "Synchronicity".

We got the floor onto the cart and put our shoes back on before heading to move our drums into our designated corner and to go watch the rest of the show. After all the Open lines competed, the World lines and then the Independents would go on. They were always great to watch. I was hoping United would be there with their spinning ball of death; that they would then put a battery member in and he (or she) would give a ridiculous solo while spinning in the monstrosity. We walked back into the Convention Center main floor though the main entrance and saw that we had placed third of the Open lines to go on in Finals. The line breathed a collective sigh of relief. Only five lines would be chosen out of the eight Open lines in Wildwood to continue onto Finals. Coming down here and not making it would have been disastrous. Our seeding was decent—we weren't going on first but we weren't going on last. We found open seats on the side bleachers to watch the rest of the show on.

* * *

At the end of the night, nearly midnight, the tired line went to get our drums from the back and walk back over the boards to the Aquarius. We weren't performing tomorrow; therefore it would be a practice day. It would be a more relaxed day than today and Saturday. Tomorrow night we would be allowed to go to the boardwalk and hang out. Practice in the morning and the afternoon would be killer. Weather forecasts were predicting cloudless eighty degree weather. It was going to be hot on our black mat. Perry and the staff would have fun watching us run the show multiple times; fixing and changing stuff. Even now, a day before Finals, things were being changed. Back at the Aquarius, I made my way slowly up the three flights of rickety stairs and waited for Missy to fish the key out of her uniform to let us into our room. Dropping my drums I hit the shower quickly so the other girls could get one before it got later. I changed into comfortable clothes and rummaged for something to eat and sat down in front of the TV. The other girls joined me after a while and we soon fell asleep in front of the television.

The next morning we awoke stiff and tired from sleeping propped up against the couch. Breakfast was at nine thirty. We had about fifteen minutes to get ready. At ten thirty we'd board the bus and head over to the Stardust to practice. The Stardust was a night club about five minutes away from our hotel. It had a parking lot large enough for us to park the truck and unload the mat to practice in. We slowly got ready and shuffled down to the deck to get fed by the band parents. After a breakfast consisting of cereal and fruit, I grabbed a few bottles of water and packed my drumline bag with my music, sticks, sunglasses and sunscreen and hoisted my tenors on before walking down three flights of stairs to the bus. Getting on and off would be incredibly hard with my drums on. I was early to the bus and spent a while trying to figure out exactly how I would work this. Tossing my bag onto the driver's seat, I unhooked my tenors and slid them up the stairs into the aisle. Carefully lifting them again, I took them to the back of the bus. I plopped into the seat across from them and sighed. I just had to go and pick one of the heaviest and bulkiest instruments on the line.

In the parking lot, Perry sat on top of the truck and watched us run the show over and over and over again. We ran the trouble spots until they were as smooth as silk; Perry only giving us water breaks when things were going well. It was warm and sunny out. We were wearing shoes on the mat for once because of the extreme heat that the black floor mat was soaking in. The mat pulled up and became wrinkled fast. Perry and the staff drilled us relentlessly. At nearly one, they told us to pack up and get on the bus. The battery members were drenched with sweat. The pit was in the shade of the truck, so they rolled their equipment effortlessly while the battery folded the mat quickly. We'd have some lunch and a break before heading back later in the day to practice.

For the first time all weekend I hung out with James. We grabbed one of the tables on the pavilion and dropped our bags. Joking as we grabbed plates and utensils, we loaded up on hoagies.

"So what'd you guys do last night?" I asked the boys. They grinned at each other.

"We hacked in and got Wi-Fi so we were playing Grand Theft Auto all night." Brian said. I wasn't surprised—Brian was a super nerd and president of Robotics. Of course he'd bring his laptop.

"Did you bring 300?" Missy asked. Watching 300 was a tradition started last year in Wildwood.

"Of course!" Hayden half yelled. Perry looked at him from across the deck.

"Hi dad!" We all screamed at him. Perry rolled his eyes. It was just another day in Wildwood.

* * *

_A/N-I like this chapter and I don't like this chapter. Boardwalk adventures and Finals are in the next chapter! Reviews make my day. Seriously. _


	41. Wildwood Nights

_A/N-We're nearing the home stretch! There's about five or so chapters remaining before the end of Syd's junior year. I have made the decision to split her junior and senior years. I know that in the poll most of you wanted me to continue the story through DYMM, but it would have been too much information for one story. I have massive plans ready for her senior year, and they deserve their own book. I am working on huge edits on this current story including a lot of stuff I didn't mention. I eventually want to publish this, much like dutchesscourtney did with _The Line _and _A Fine Line. 

_I know it's been awhile, but with drumline, jazz band, APs, drum majoring auditioning and prom; my life has been more than a little crazy. I was in a car accident in March which kinda made my life miserable for a bit, but things are better. Everything isn't okay, but it's getting there =)_

_Thanks go to guardgirl414, Jollibee, projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, Tory Loves Percussionists, hazeleyedhottie and IzzyDizzyLi (who reviewed an amazing nine times!!) for reviewing the last chapter!_

_Reminders to check out the poll, the facebook and the other one shot works I've posted. Also keep an eye out for Biracial Beauty's _Live By The Music_ in which I have submitted a new OC. _

_Lyrics aren't mine although I wish they were—have to get my hands on this album!!_

* * *

Chapter Forty-One-Wildwood Nights

_I'm trying, I'm trying  
To let you know how much you mean  
As days fade, and nights grow  
And we go cold_

But this time, we'll show them  
We'll show them all how much we mean  
As snow falls on desert sky  
Until the end of every...

_Demolition Lovers-__**My Chemical Romance**_

* * *

As the afternoon practice that Friday ended, we helped load everything onto the truck and rolled up our insanely hot mat. Tired and sweaty, the battery slowly waddled onto the bus, still loaded down by our drums. The short ride back to the motel was quiet. Everyone was tired and no one was looking forward to tomorrow; although tomorrow was Finals, the weather was forecasted to be hotter. The band parents were preparing food on the veranda when we got back. I changed from my basketball shorts and t-shirt to my bathing suit and grabbed a towel. The pool had looked incredibly refreshing when we pulled into the parking lot and I felt like swimming before dinner.

Adrianna had decided to come with me. Missy was curled up asleep on the couch and Jenny was in another room. The two of us walked down the flights of stairs (again) and laid our things out on a chair. I dove into the cool water, instantly relieved from the oppressive warm air. Adrianna waded in from the other end of the pool. From three flights up, Hayden poked his head out of the door. Seeing what we were doing, he ran back in and soon reemerged in his trunks with a small battalion of teenage boys. The boys dive-bombed the water and began a fairly violent game of Marco Polo. I stayed out of the line of fire, not wanting to pop out my knee the day before Finals.

James soon joined in and hung out by the edge with me.

"Enjoying Wildwood?" I asked my friend.

"Yeah. Who wouldn't?"

"Tonight is going to be fun. Walking the boards are always a blast." I sat, keeping up with the idle chit-chat, trying to prevent an awkward silence. These silences seemed to keep interrupting at any time when talking to James. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain. The silence fell. I bit my lip, cursing myself for wearing this ridiculous tankini my sister conned me into buying and for James' nice set of abs being about four inches from my left arm.

"Well, I should go get changed before dinner." I said, hoisting myself out of the water.

"Oh…okay." I scurried over to my things and scrambled up the stairs to my room.

_Well that could have been more awkward._

Oh really? How?

_The top part of your suit could have fallen down. Now that would have been awkward!_

* * *

Freshly showered and dressed in jeans and my Carnegie-Mellon hoodie, I went down to dinner to find that it had cooled down and the wind had picked up. I made up my plate of tacos and found a seat with the boys. Missy came down looking as if she had just rolled out of bed (which she did) and grabbed one of Hayden's tacos as she moved to sit next to me. Her boyfriend made a sound of protest which was quickly silenced by a kick to the shin from my ex-soccer playing friend.

The boys (and most battery girls) pigged out on the Mexican meal, which was always a favorite of the line. The wind picked up throughout dinner; several paper plates blew away and an umbrella was nearly lost off the deck. People were sitting on the deck chairs to keep them from flying into the street as the band parents hurried to secure all the pots and plates on the table. Small bits of lettuce and cheese were becoming air born; Missy and I were picking it out of our hair.

When the parents ran out of food to give us or it had all blown away, Perry stood up.

"Okay guys? I'm gonna let you loose now. Don't do anything stupid on the boards. A lot of other lines are going to be out relaxing tonight so I'll know if anything goes down. Be back here by eleven. Lights out at eleven thirty."

The drumline broke off into small groups to go grab purses and wallets and head down the stairs to the boardwalk across the street. James and I made our way over without Missy and Hayden. She decided to spend the night at the hotel to catch up on sleep and he didn't want to go without her. I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to hang out with her and make her go on the Sling Shot again, but I knew we'd probably have some time Sunday before we headed home to forcibly tie her down for the ride.

The boardwalk was alive with colored lights and the smells of fudge and popcorn. Music was blaring from every stand. James and I wandered around in the salty night air just drinking everything in. We got our pictures taken by the freshmen of the line who were darting around with cameras.

"Little ankle bitters." James muttered after our seventh faked candid. I elbowed him.

"I remember a time when you were half their size." I said, making my way over to an ice cream shop.

"I was six!" He yelled indignantly over the crowds.

"Nine and you were much shorter than I was." I said over my shoulder, ordering a soft serve with chocolate jimmies.

Next thing I knew, I was being spun around in the air. I yelled at James to put me down; in response he tossed me over his shoulder.

Déjà-vu? Defiantly. He handed me my ice cream and ordered one for himself and walked over to a bench where he (thankfully, gently) sat me down. We watched some people while we ate. The colors swirled around and the sound of teenagers stretched the boards. It was relaxing. We talked for awhile, and soon the conversation turned to the beginning of the year.

"Why'd you hate me so much?" James asked. The ice cream had been long devoured, and the crowds had thinned significantly.

"Because you were a such a tool!" I replied.

"I wasn't that bad…"

"You said I should kiss you because I wasn't all sugary sweet to you when you came into band!"

He paused.

"Okay, maybe I was a jerk."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, I was a total jerk. Forgive me?" He stuck out his bottom lip and quivered it. I laughed.

"Yeah yeah, forgiven."

He beamed. "Good."

I rolled my eyes and checked my phone.

"C'mon we gotta head back to the Aquarius." I said, pulling myself to my feet. James groaned and held out his arms. Sighing, I grabbed on and pulled, hoisting him to his feet. We walked slowly down the boards back to the hotel. Passing the Convention Center, James tossed his arm around my shoulder. I looked up at him suspiciously.

"Syd, Wildwood's better than it has been, but it's not a completely safe place. Just making sure no one's going to grab you on the walk over."

"James, I'm in better physical shape than you, and besides, I can see the motel."

"It's the thought that counts Roberson!" James cried exasperated. I smirked.

"Who has the six pack in this relationship?" James sighed and grumbled something under his breath. I smiled as I held the gate to the pool lobby open.

"You first, oh manly man of macho men."

* * *

Saturday morning dawned eerily quiet over the ocean. I was up early and sat out basking in the early morning warmth listening to my iPod and reading. Tonight was Finals and I was excited for it. This was what we were working for all season. I gave up thinking about anything else. I stuck my bookmark (a picture from prom) into the book and walked down to the patio. I took in the salt air and looked out over the ocean rolling in under the pink blue sky. I was looking at the Wildwoods sign; it didn't get any more real than this.

Practice was silent. We pushed though the heat and fought the distractions of the early season shore town. There were people who watched us practice in our parking lot and there were other lines around us. And there were a lot of strange people in Wildwood. One walked around making goat noises; a small group began cheering for all the girls in the battery. I rolled my eyes and smiled. Wildwood was an interesting place.

I was in my bottom uniform (the red Roxanne death halter) cleaning my drums when James came into the room and plopped on the couch. He was in the dark scrub pants and Mirage shirt. I didn't look up; I was too drawn in to a small black mark on drum three. We sat in silence for a while listening to my iPod playing on the counter. Adri was in the shower, Missy was with Hayden and Jenny was catching a quick nap in the back bedroom.

"Good luck Syd." James said after several minutes. I looked at him. I gave up on the spot. It wasn't coming out anytime soon.

"You too." I smiled and headed to wake Jenny up. When I came back, James was gone. Slightly put out, I got into the rest of my uniform and shook my head to clear it. I loaded my drums onto the harness and began the slow walk down the stairs to the lobby. The drumline would have one final warm up together on the side of the hotel before Finals.

I remember the walk over to the Convention Center was quiet. The Battery was holding hands as we walked over the parking lot and onto the boardwalk. The only sounds were the seagulls and ocean coming in. It was a dark night, the sky clear, the stars bright and shining. We dropped the drums and waited for our turn to move up to the curtained gate to perform. The pit wheeled in behind us. Some guy in a Security shirt waved us forward and the Line took our places behind the curtain. I tried to block out the sounds of the drumline on the floor, but it was difficult. There was a ripping sound and a crash. My head snapped up. I looked at Noah nervously. He smiled at me.

"Don't worry about them, focus on us." I nodded. The Security guy reappeared in a few minutes, waving us on.

"Go!"

Noah leaned over and hugged me as best he could with our quints in the way.

"Do it up."

I honestly can't remember what I did on the floor. Seven minutes later, the battery ran off the floor, whipped off our drums and ran back to get the floor and the props. Loading the floor mat onto our shoulders, we hurried off to the loading area. We loaded the floor onto the kart and breathed for the first time in what felt like months. It was over. Done. That was the last time I'd ever play that show again. Slightly numb, slightly emotional, I walked over and joined the full drumline circle that was forming.

"Well?" Noah asked the Line. A resounding roar came from the circle.

"Good. 'Cause that's what I thought too."

* * *

_A/N-Took me a while, but I liked the way this turned out. Hopefully you did too! Reviews make my long days a little better =)_


	42. Life In Technicolor

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, Jollibee, clarinetguardgeek07, IzzyDizzyLi, MellophonegirlAzhure, mordinosaur, Hottie12345k (2X) and xtonight-foreverx for reviewing! _

_The school year is wrapping up for both of us here =) Soon we'll both be seniors!_

_Lyrics and United aren't mine, but enjoy anyway! _

_Congratulations are in order for the fan fiction class of 2009, whether it's college or high school, follow your dreams kids and never stop writing._

* * *

Chapter Forty Two-Life in Technicolor

_Oh love don't let me go  
Won't you take me where the streetlights glow  
I could hear it coming  
Like a serenade of sound  
Now my feet won't touch the ground_

Gravity release me,  
And don't ever hold me down  
Now my feet won't touch the ground.

_  
Life in Technicolor ii-__**Coldplay**_

* * *

The drumline rolled everything to the truck and packed it up. Since we were towards the top half of the Open lines, we had less time to get everything together before United went on and full retreat. Once everything was safely tied up, the line went around getting back in to see the top World lines. We found seats on the right side near the top. The convention center was packed full of drumlines, parents and instructors. Perry was chatting with some of his friends and introduced us. The other instructors did seem surprised with the number of girls he had in his line; all the other drumlines I had seen all season had been mostly, if not all, male. Missy and I smiled as we talked with other drumline boys about paradiddles and hertas. Hayden made a point of putting his arm around Missy's waist when one of the boys asked for her facebook. I rolled my eyes. Drumline boys were something.

After United's performance, we all got up and scrambled for the exit. We were herded into lines by class and unit. Some lines had Championship banners from years past; others held props from their shows. It was very crowded, even in the large back half of the center. I stood with the other juniors behind the seniors. The underclassmen made up the back half of the line; from what I could hear, they were trying to make friends with the Concert Open line next to us.

We walked out to a rock song, played at full volume so that it was impossible to make out the lyrics or tune. The announcer went through the standard spiel; how we were all winners, who died in TIA, who was an awesome person in the association, etcetera.

The national anthem was sung by a member of Blackwatch, a color guard that was to perform tomorrow. He had a lovely voice, but when he accidentally repeated the first verse, the musicians on the floor collectively cringed. Noting his mistake, instead of singing the fourth line of the song, he sang in tune, 'And I messed up the words!' The people in the arena laughed and many of the kids cheered. I laughed, too. It substantially lightened up the tension in the room.

The drumline kids in the room immediately seemed to buzz with excitement and nerves when the announcer started with the scores. This man felt the need for a dramatic pause at the start of every announcement. At the start of every new category, the groups involved held their breath; no one wanted to be the first to be called. Every round, someone would let out a sigh of relief or defeat. Some lines were promoted to the next class; their parents and friends in the audience cheered and screamed. It was mildly taunting as a member of a line that had no idea where we would place.

When the Open Scholastic Marching Percussion category was announced, I tensed. I knew our show had been good, but TIA judges could be fickle sometimes. A 90 show could turn into an 80 show the next week. We had gone in with a solid score and a decent place…I snapped to attention. We'd all know soon enough.

The sixth place line was called. The line next to us sagged with defeat. Silently, we sighed in relief. At least we didn't get dead last like we had my freshman year. That was not a fun walk back to the hotel…

We held our breath as fifth, fourth and third places were announced. The freshmen were bouncing around in the back of the line. All this tension could not be good for my heart.

_Breathe girl. Oxygen is good for your body. _

"And in second place, with a score of ninety four point nine, that's nine four point nine, Sycamore Falls!" I gasped for air. The lines around us clapped politely as Noah was handed our trophy and our silver medals. We received much applause and cheer; the parents of the members of the winning line would always start screaming when the second place line was announced. I poked Missy in front of me.

"One tenth of a point more and we would have been promoted to World!" She yelled over the crowd. I knew Perry would be pleased with the score, and I knew next year there'd be a big push to try and make World. As the announcer went through the World and Independent lines, we finally got a chance to relax a bit. The line that won Open beat us by half a point, a somewhat painful loss. We had been close to first but there was something; one tiny something that cost us points. I racked my brain to try and see if there was anything I had done that could have cost us that half point, but it was useless. What was done was done; I couldn't change it no matter how hard I tried.

When the show finally ended, we made our way back to the loading area where the other non-first place lines gathered. It was a mad house back there; everyone broke ranks and headed in every direction. Adrianna was next to me. She looked terrified and confused, happy and sad at the same time. Smiling at her, I took her hand and followed Missy out to the small area of tables outside where Perry and the staff waited for us. Already, I could see the senior girls beginning to shed tears. I didn't want to think what I'd be like next year; I knew I was going to be a wreck.

* * *

That night at the Aquarius we had a party. With our silver medals around our necks, the band mommies fed us the junk food we all wanted. Pizza was delivered and Missy and I called in our Chinese and finally enjoyed what we had been joking about all season; General Tso's Pizza. The drumline partied on the deck of the motel, blaring music and singing along with it. We didn't care that we got second, and as I smiled for a picture with all the juniors, I realized it wouldn't have mattered if we got last.

I woke up on my last morning in Wildwood to grey skies and a constant drizzle. The girls and I slowly worked on cleaning up all our crap and getting the room back to the way it was before we walked in. All of our stuff had spread throughout the two room motel room. We dragged one of the large trashcans from down the hall to right in front of our door so we'd have easier access. Sure, we were blocking the only way down the stairs, but we'd get done cleanup faster so we could have more boardwalk time.

We had our last breakfast on the deck, under the large umbrellas. Most of us had gone to breakfast in our pajamas for most of the weekend; now we were wrapped in our jackets and jeans. It was cool out, and the rain didn't help. The band parents were trying to get us to eat as much as possible so they didn't have more stuff to take back with them. As I was sitting on my bag trying to close the stupid thing, I had déjà vu of doing the same thing before band camp. Our room easily took the longest to find the floor; when we finally got done we ran down to the bus, yelled a hello to Phyllis and toss our bags into the undercarriage. Perry was waiting for everyone to get done so he could dismiss us for boardwalk time. The freshmen especially were hyper. When Perry finally released us, they bolted. I heard overheard the boys saying something about the ocean and a poker bet, but they were gone too fast to hear anything else. I walked with Missy and Adri out to the beginning of the boardwalk and hopped the tram car. Soon, we were joined by a group of kids from the line at Murray's Pier. The rain had intensified, so the boards were pretty much empty. We sat under a covering while trying to stay warm with two funnel cakes and a jumbo container of fries.

Surprisingly, I hadn't seen James very much since Friday. Outside of practice, I couldn't find him anywhere. It was annoying, as if he was purposefully avoiding me. At meals he always ate before or after I came, when loading the truck he kept to himself. The mood swings were getting really old, really fast. I though we were progressing in our friendship. I swirled a fry in ketchup. I had no idea what he was thinking. He was ignoring my texts. It bothered me that he was snubbing me like this. Not wanting anyone to be suspicious, I acted happy though out the rest of the afternoon, but I couldn't get my mind off it. Secretly I kept checking my phone for new messages and came up disappointed. I had half a mind to corner him on the bus and force an explanation to the icy exclusion.

As the rain got heavier, my mood sunk lower. We slowly made our way back to the bus, soaking wet, and said goodbye to Wildwood.

* * *

_A/N-I had a lot of plans for this chapter…hopefully they came through and you enjoyed! Review my lovelies please!_


	43. Bursting into Life

_A/N-Thanks to projectfreq91, Jollibee, The Burning Red Rose, Clarinetguardgeek07 for reviewing! _

_I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm done. This is the last actual chapter. It comes as a surprise to me too, but last night I couldn't sleep so I just started writing, and this happened. It's exactly how I want it, and I hope you guys enjoy it. There will be an epilogue chapter of sorts coming. _

_New story-Accidental, is up!_

_Lyrics aren't mine._

* * *

Chapter Forty Three-Bursting into Life

_Forget what we're told  
Before we get too old  
Show me a garden  
That's bursting into life_

_All that I am  
All that I ever was  
Is here in your perfect eyes  
They're all I can see_

_Chasing Cars-__**Snow Patrol**_

* * *

Once the line had been fed and massive disturbances were caused at Arby's, the remaining time on the bus was pretty quiet. Most of the drumline was either asleep, texting someone on the other end of the bus, or listening to music. I was trying to concentrate on my AP US notes, as the exam was next week. I stifled a yawn and pushed myself back into the Industrial Revolution. Missy was sleeping and muttering something about raccoons and grape jelly next to me. I decided against waking her up.

Hayden sat across from us with his head stuck in an AP Bio book. Since the back of the bus was primarily upperclassmen, we were the ones attempting to make up for a weekend lost of studying. James was two seats in front of me, his ear buds firmly implanted in his head. In between reading about the Pullman Strike I imagined pulling those stupid headphones out of his ears and giving him a piece of my mind, but it always had the same ending, of which I wasn't sure where it came from. The two of us…together.

But me? Kissing James? I shook my head like a dog with water in its ears. That's impossible.

_Or is it?_

I wouldn't kiss someone I didn't like.

_I never said you didn't like him. _

Why would I like him? He's my friend.

_And you know what that turns into sometimes? Feelings that aren't so friendly!_

Well…even if I did like him, it would never work. Haven't you noticed that relationships and I just don't mix? My last boyfriend turned out to be gay, and now I have a guy following me around that thinks I'm going to have his babies!

_You didn't turn Sean gay; he was using you to find out, and we have already established Christian to be a creeper so they don't count. _

You know, having my own brain out logic me is really annoying.

_I know. It's what I do. _

Resisting the urge to smack myself in the head with my book, I settled for plugging into my iPod. Even on shuffle, the songs seemed to remind me of James.

Oh come on John Mayer, can't I catch a break? Haven't I been tortured enough?

_Not until you admit what everyone already knows you're thinking. _

No. Not happening, go away.

_You can't tell your sub-conscious to go away, that's impossible!_

So is me liking James.

_How can something that's happening right now be impossible?_

I snorted out loud. I got some strange looks from people sitting around me.

_Yeah that's right, I'm arguing with myself. Call the asylum now._

Not exactly sure of myself, I stood up carefully and half-crawled over Missy. She promptly fell over and curled into a ball. Crouched low I hurried up to James' seat. I pulled the plug to his iPod.

"What the hell was that for?" James said crossly.

"Because I want to talk to you."

"Could have asked." He grumbled, coiling his headphones. One minute into this and I already was screwing it up royally.

"Okay fine, never mind." I said, crossing my arms and legs. I wasn't going to move until I got whatever this was off my chest.

Minutes past. We went over a bump as we crossed the state line and I bounced and half landed in James' lap. My face hot, I untangled my limbs and scrabbled off. I chanced a glance at him only to see his face was red too.

_Awesome! That'll be two first class tickets for the awkward express!_

* * *

For a few minutes, I couldn't look at him. Every time I wrapped my brain around some plausible reason why I felt this was, I'd glance at him and forget it all. The wordless declaration of our friendship a few months back was difficult enough to explain to myself and others; in less than one year we'd gone from one-sided enemies, to something like friends and then back to enemies before falling into what we had now, back to the old school James and Sydney.

_Yeah well I bet the old school J and S didn't have to deal with teenage emotions running rampant. _

Everything I ever learned from Rachel and Missy about boys was both right and wrong. Rachel always fell completely, always. She's been in love with every boy she's ever gone out with, even though she admits that it was a different love after the end of the relationship. She and Kyle were fragile. Always were. I remember having to comfort her during the indoor home show last year because he had wandered off and found some random guard girls. Now that she's with David, she's been more quiet, subtle and calm about it. He's had a relaxing influence to her. She laughs a little easier, she smiles a little brighter.

Missy was always a little more guarded, but she went out with far more people than Rachel and I combined. Hayden is the first boy she says she loves, but I know that's not true. Freshman year she fell hard for one of the junior trumpet players. Since then, she's jumped from boy to boy a little like me, only her boyfriends had much more frequency than mine. With Hayden though, she's had both her longest relationship and her most stable.

My best friends would take immense pleasure in me admitting that finding out that I finally liked someone was nice, even excellent. They'd be annoyed that I didn't completely agree with their philosophies though.

"Hey, James?" I asked, tentatively, tapping him on the arm. Outside the bus, the buildings were familiar; we were just outside of town.

"Yeah, Syd?"

"Did you ever…miss me while you were gone?" I desperately wanted to melt into the floor and seep through the cracks onto the road. However, I held his gaze, searching the blue eyes for any sign that would lead me to crazed, incessant hope.

He sighed and turned off his iPod.

"You have no idea."

I smiled.

* * *

Back at the school finally, groaning how we all had to be back here early tomorrow, the Sycamore Falls Indoor Drumline had its last meeting of the season. I was a mix of emotions. I was attached to the senior class, but I was coming to realize that it would be me next year; that I was nearing my end here.

The meeting broke apart with one final 'MIRAGE!' and we all wandered around the band room, hugging and signing things. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James slip out the back door, sans luggage. Missy caught the direction of my gaze and nudged me.

"Go west, my friend." She smiled. Nodding, I listened.

I slipped outside. The early summer air was already creeping up out of the breezes of spring. It was lovely out. I walked around the side of the building, looking for a mop of messy dark hair.

I spied a boy out on the bleachers. Hoping it was James and not some crazy rapist ax murderer, I opened the gate and slowly walked up to the spot on the bleachers I knew so well. It was where the drum major stood in front of the band while conducting stand tunes. James was looking out over the field, leaning against the fence. I joined him. We stood in comfortable silence for a while.

"You know how you asked if I missed you?"

"Well yeah it was only an hour ago."

"Did you miss me?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and remembered the devastated girl I was when he left.

"More than my pride and dignity would like me to admit."

James smiled down at me, and with only a second's hesitation wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

Sure, I'd been held by a guy before, but this felt completely different. It felt right. I know, seeing as we had a good friendship that it should feel wrong…but it didn't. Not at all. Being snuggled into James' hard chest, I felt the closest I've ever felt to perfect in a long time. I blinked and looked up to find the space between us closing.

If simply being held by him was close to perfect, that I found that being kissed now by him, this infuriating, incredibly boy, was indeed perfect.

* * *

_A/N-YAY! I absolutely love this chapter, it's easily the most favorite I've written for this story. Anyway, when I was writing the bleacher scene, two songs played. They were Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra. Thank them for this inspiration! The next chapter will be up soon and it will be the last chapter of this story. Wowz. Review please!!!_


	44. Epilouge

_A/N-Thanks to clarinetguardgeek07, Jollibee, projectfreq91, JacokNortovc, The Burning Red Rose, Hottie12345k (2x), dutchesscourtney and Wicked Winter for reviewing the last chapter! _

_This is it folks! All done! After this chapter, Sydney's junior year will be done. Thanks for everything!_

_Lyrics aren't mine, but everything else is._

* * *

Epilogue

_No it doesn't even matter don't you worry what it's all about  
We hope you enjoyed your stay  
It's good to have you with us, even if it's just for the day  
We hope you enjoyed your stay  
Outside the sun is shining, seems like heaven ain't far away  
It's good to have you with us  
Even if it's just for the day_

_Exitlude-__**The Killers**_

* * *

Missy and Rachel have taken the last two weeks in stride. After having what happened out on the bleachers, I found my bag stuffed with tiny ripped pieces of paper reading 'We told you so!' They were quite tame, compared to what my runaway imagination came up with.

_Oh come on, they're band geeks; a parade in your honor would not have been that difficult for them!_

As the school found out, reactions were primarily the same as Missy and Rachel's.

"You aren't stupid, Syd, you had to have seen the chemistry between you two!" Sean said as we walked from the AP US exam.

"It was like an illegal Chinese firework warehouse explosion when you two were around each other!"

"Alright Sean I get it!" I laughed, whacking him in the arm with a notebook.

Of course, not everyone was as pleased. Christian gave me betrayed, wounded doe eyes whenever I walked the halls with James. I was spared the bodily harm when Rachel left cousin Abby know. She told me the Monday after that it was not a pretty picture and I fully believe her.

* * *

I was excited for many reasons. After two weeks, I was finally done with all the AP testing. James and I were reveling in the new couple glow. We were attempting to keep a low profile, but that was difficult seeing as half the band had a poll going on when we'd finally admit we liked each other.

And the big one—finally, finally, the entire band and I would find out on Sunday at the band banquet whether Abby or I would be leading the band out on the field next year.

I was incredibly nervous for Sunday, but I was determined not to let it consume me on my first truly free weekend since last summer. Friday I made plans to hang out with Rachel and Missy and after work on Saturday morning I was going to go out with James. It worked well, but the constant churning of my stomach got my down.

I spent more time in the bathroom getting ready that afternoon than my sister did on a regular day. I dressed, changed my mind, chose a new outfit and then went back to my original dress.

Thankfully, my grandfather had the good sense to take me outside before I changed my outfit again or started hyperventilating. My parents and siblings had already left, leaving me and grandpop. Robotically, I climbed in shotgun while he started the car. I handed my car keys to my mother this morning, telling her there was no way in hell I could drive with my nerves.

I had avoided talking all day because I was afraid of hurling when I opened my mouth instead. So, of course, grandpop was going to talk the entire way there. After playing with the radio for a while, he drummed on the steering wheel while whistling. He turned over to me and chuckled.

"Relax. And breathe. You mother would kill me if you died on my watch." I exhaled, letting out the breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"You're reminding me of your grandmother. She'd get all obsessed with something, and once she did there was no stopping her." He said, with a reminiscent twinkle in his eye. I smiled, somehow a little more relaxed.

* * *

During the banquet, I sat at a back table with my friends. We laughed and lit the small plastic music notes on fire in the tiny candles. James squeezed my hand under the table. They all knew I was nervous, and I knew they were all nervous too. Looking around at the table, watching my friends joke and laugh, I knew I'd be okay if I didn't get it. Much as I wanted it, I knew that my group of friends would make me see the positive and be happy for me.

"Can we have the candidates for drum major please come up to the front?"

I stood up, forcing a small smile on my face. From the other end of the room, Abby was already up at the front. I secretly wished that I wasn't all the way back here, having to make the long walk across the room. The band members cheered and yelled for us; they all wanted to know as well.

"I just want to say that both of these young ladies have done a phenomenal job in the audition process. This has been one of the most difficult selections I have ever had to make as band director. Our show this year is going to be exciting, electrifying, and green." Coolidge said. The band members were buzzing. He always announced the show right before the drum major selection. Abby and I didn't look at each other. I could feel my hands sweating against my dress.

"Our show is about two young women making their way through school. They were enemies, become friends, and become separated to lead different lives. Our show this year will be music from the musical 'Wicked.'"

The buzz grew louder, between the excited chatter of the returning members to the annoyed grumbles of seniors who would not be around to be in the show.

"This upcoming season, there will be a new position on the field. I take this time now to announce that due to the increasing size of the band, the Sycamore Falls marching band will have both a head drum major and a field commander."

My head spun. That meant I was going to be conducting this year! My heart was pounding. The hall was completely silent. Everyone was hanging onto Coolidge's words.

"Our field commander will be Abigail Kramer." Coolidge said. "And our head drum major will be Sydney Roberson."

_Head drum major? Head drum major?!_ After shaking hands with the band staff, Coolidge handed me a green bag. I returned to my table and was swamped by my excited friends. When the stream of people had subsided, I reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of pristine white gloves and a baton.

_I'M QUEEN OF THE WORLD!_

* * *

_A/N-So now we have it. Officially. This was just a little preview of the senior year, soon to be coming. Reviews rock my socks, and thank you for reading! _

_6/24/07-7/30/09_


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